Trainee
by MarauderLover7
Summary: "As a real battle would, this arena will test you physically and mentally. As you would in a real battle, you will be fighting enemies and, as in a real battle, you will need to know when to have allies and when to work alone."
1. Day 1

No one was speaking but the room seemed to be buzzing. Sirius imagined he could _hear_ the nerves, or maybe smell was a better word, given his canine attributes. No one - Sirius included - knew quite what to expect; the older Aurors were all very quiet about this part of the test and some seemed afraid whenever it was mentioned.

Moody - one of the toughest Aurors Sirius knew - had pressed his scarred lips together and said 'Constant Vigilance' very quietly before limping away. All around, witches and wizards of all ages were waiting stiffly, wearing an apprehensive yet defiant look and Sirius was certain his expression mirrored theirs.

"Together, whatever this test is?" Sirius muttered. James gave him a look. "Right, stupid question," Sirius said, managing a grin despite the circumstances.

"Stupid," James agreed, his eyes not quite focused; he was obviously thinking very hard about something.

"You look like you're getting ready for N.E.W.T.s," Sirius said with a small smile.

"Feels a bit like it," James said wryly.

"I don't know why everyone else here looks so nervous," Sirius said quietly. _Very_ quietly; he did _not_ want to piss off a room full of stressed and highly competent wizards. "They've had twice as long to get ready for this."

"Wishing you'd had longer, Padfoot?" James said lightly, truly meeting his eyes for the first time. Behind his glasses, James' hazel eyes were bright, waiting to see if Sirius would rise to his bait.

_Not a chance, Prongsie._ "Nah. Together, remember?" he said.

"Yeah."

"If I could have your attention, please," said a witch's cool, professional voice. Everyone in the room stiffened. "The final component of your Auror Examination is about to commence. You will spend two nights-" Sirius saw James pale at that - no doubt dreading Lily's wrath for his unexplained absence when he got home, "-inside the testing arena which has been specially designed to mimic a real battle."

"As a real battle would, this arena will test you physically and mentally. As you would in a real battle, you will be fighting enemies and, as in a real battle, you will need to know when to have allies and when to work alone. As in a real battle, you will need to form strategies and you will need to know what spells to use and when. Points will be awarded for your ability to cope with challenges presented inside the arena, for successful application of the skills you've obtained in the Program and for your general ability to survive. You need two-hundred points to graduate from Trainee to Auror."

"Who are we fighting?" James mouthed, frowning. Sirius shrugged.

"Inside the arena," the witch's voice continued, "you have no friends. Inside the arena, it is every trainee for themselves." Everyone looked around, trying to decide who the biggest threats were. "For every confrontation where you are the successor, you will receive points. The number of points depends on how spectacular the defeat is. You may do whatever is necessary to incapacitate your fellows but be warned; you are being watched, and use of the Killing or Cruciatus Curse or any other spell that results in actual death or permanent harm to the victim will be treated as it would in the outside world: You will be expelled from the Program and hand-delivered to Azkaban."

"No friends in the arena?" James breathed, glancing at Sirius, while everyone chattered about Azkaban and the Unforgivables.

"Dragon dung," Sirius muttered.

"Together anyway?" James asked hopefully. Sirius nodded.

"Before you are admitted into the arena you will be checked by a Healer. They will explain everything else that you need to know. When your name is called, go through the door on your left and then through the door – also on the left - with your corresponding number. Benjamin Ackerly, number one. Caroline Austen, number two. William Baddams, number three. Sirius Black, number four. Peter Blackburn, number five..."

Sirius nodded to James who was looking pale but determined and then followed Peter Blackburn through the door on the left of the waiting room. He found himself in a narrow corridor, where he could go either left or right. The trainees before him had all gone right, so he followed. _That's door number one_, Sirius thought as he passed it. He walked for almost a minute where he passed staircases – though they were on the right – until he came to door number two. Interestingly, the corridor seemed to be curving, and he suspected that if he followed it long enough, he'd end up back at the door to the waiting room. _And there's door number three..._After another few minutes, he arrived at door number four._ This is it..._

He pushed it open into a small but brightly lit room with a bed in one corner, a fireplace in another and a door directly opposite the one he'd just come through. Next to the bed was a table, equipped with a tray of food and drink and waiting on the bed was a very familiar witch whose eyes were as vivid a green as the Healer's robes she was wearing. "Hello," she said, grinning at Sirius' stunned look. "I'm Healer Potter and I'll be taking care of you for the duration of your examination."

"Lily!" Sirius exclaimed, rushing forward to hug the laughing red-headed witch. "I didn't know you'd be coming!"

"Neither did I until this morning; this is part of my test to be a Healer about judgement and performing under pressure. Thankfully I had time to speak to Dumbledore. He's cleared us – you, me and James - from Order duty for the week." She grinned. "Remus is grumpy about having to take some of your shifts."

Sirius felt a momentary stab of worry. The war hadn't stopped simply because he, James and Lily were taking a break. Remus would have Peter for moral support, of course, but Peter never duelled much these days; he was too much of a liability. Remus could handle himself, there was no doubting that, and there would be Order members with him but Sirius still didn't like the idea of him out there without the rest of them.

Lily read his expression. "He'll be fine, I'm sure." She checked her watch and frowned. "You won't be, though, if I don't start explaining," she said, with her Head Girl face on, "and neither will James because I have to brief him as soon as I'm done here. Basically, you have to survive for three days in conditions that have been designed to replicate an actual battle. You'll have to find your own food and water; some is natural – you'll see what I mean once you're in – and some of it is kept in storerooms."

"The storerooms," she continued, seeing Sirius' questioning look, "are designed to trigger confrontation between trainees. If you _find_ food and water, you get points. If you defeat someone in a duel and _take_ their food and water, you'll also get points."

Sirius nodded, beginning to see how this worked. "If you form an alliance," Lily continued, "the Aurors who watch will award you points depending on how strong it is, and how well you're able to work together. You'll lose points for betraying that alliance and you'll lose points if one of your team-members gets hurt. Alternatively, if you play alone, you'll gain and lose points depending on how well that works." She hesitated, losing her professional tone. "I know you aren't the type, but _do not_ use the Killing or Cruciatus Curses."

She pursed her lips. "You are permitted to use the Imperius Curse." Sirius could see she disapproved of this and couldn't blame her; he didn't like it either. "You will, however, be penalised for over-use. To replace the other two, there's a curse that inflicts momentary pain – a bit like being electrocuted. The incantation is '_Dolorus'. _There is also a Killing Curse." Lily's wrinkled her nose as if the concept was distasteful. "It's harmless – it tickles a bit but it reacts with the charm that you and the other trainees need to wear. It will 'kill' your opponent in the arena. The incantation is '_Meridiem Nox'_." Her expression darkened. "It's not something to use lightly. 'Killing' and opponent in the arena means they'll fail their test."

"I won't be killing anyone," Sirius said.

Lily bit her lip. "I don't think the other trainees will be thinking the same way."

"James will."

"They aren't all as noble as you and James are..."

"Lils, you're making me blush," he said, batting his eyelashes at her.

"Sirius!" Lily said, a little louder than she'd probably meant to. "This isn't a joke! You need to be careful. You'll all be scared of failing and scared of each other and you'll be hungry and tired. Accidents happen."

"I'll be careful."

"I hope so," Lily said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Anyone would think you liked James and I now, Lils!" Sirius teased.

She gave him a half-smile and she brushed a finger over her wedding ring. "Look after him, Sirius."

"What are brothers for?" he asked. Lily smiled. "Have you seen the arena?"

"Aurors and Healers have platforms that are suspended above it," she said. "I was up there earlier."

"What's it like?"

"Huge," she said. "About a mile in diameter. Now," she said, drawing his attention back with her Head Girl voice, "I'm your Healer, and James', for the next three days."

"Isn't there a rotation?" Sirius asked, surprised.

Lily shook her head, looking truly worried for the first time. "No. I have to be ready to tend you – either of you – at a moment's notice; that's why this is part of my exam too."

"When do you sleep?"

"I wanted to talk to you about that," she said. "You and James will stick together, right?"

"Stupid question," Sirius said.

Lily smiled. "I thought so. When you and James are in a place where you feel safe, tap your arms with your wands and say '_Hiyacintho Lux'_. That'll tell me that you think you're safe enough for me to not be watching and I can sleep." Sirius nodded. "If at any point you feel like you need medical help, you need to come back to the door you enter the arena through."

"Where is it?"

Lily's eyes glittered and she raised a hand. "Right there," she said, pointing at the door opposite the one Sirius had entered through.

Sirius was on his feet in an instant. "The arena's through there?" he asked, eager to see what it looked like.

Lily put herself between him and the door and planted her hands on her hips. "Sit," she said firmly. "There's a lot more I need to get through before you can so much as touch that handle and I need to do that as quickly as possible."

"Why?" Lily's eyes narrowed dangerously. Sirius sat back down. "Keep talking," he said hastily.

She waited for a moment, likely checking if he was going to keep interrupting. When he stayed quiet, she smiled. _Bet she didn't know I'm capable of paying attention,_ he thought smugly. "Before you go out, I'll put a charm on you. It's a health indicator, designed specifically for this exam to show how healthy you are. You'll be able to see it, and so will I because I cast it, but no one else will be able to. It's something of a safety measure, so you don't accidentally die because you're too stubborn to find a Healer."

"Bright green is healthy and that's what I'll restore you to if you come through that door. Yellow is also healthy, but the greener it is, the better. Yellow might mean you're tired or hungry, or that you have a headache. If you come through that door to be healed, you have to stay until I heal you, and then you have a two hour time penalty after that."

"So I just sit here for two hours?"

Lily nodded grimly. "Orange is a worry. It means you're sick, you've broken a bone, you're dehydrated, or that you're sleep deprived to the point where it's affecting your performance in the arena. That's a six hour penalty. Red is a problem. It means that not only is your performance slipping, but that your injury is starting to affect your health. Red generally arises if something orange has been left untreated but unlike orange or yellow, red won't go away on its own; you'll keep getting worse. At any time you're red, I can retrieve you from the arena without you coming to the doors."

"Collect us as soon as we're red, then."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "If you're retrieved by a Healer, you're out of the arena and kept in here-" she gestured around the tiny room, "-for twenty-four hours before you're allowed back out again."

"But that's half of the time!"

"It's an incentive not to get hurt," she said. "In a real battle, like we've done with the Order, you getting sent to St Mungo's means we're down by a fighter. That could mean the battle." Sirius nodded under her strict, rather McGonagall-ish, expression. "If you come to me before I decide to retrieve you, you'll have a ten hour penalty."

"Noted: If I go red, come straight here."

"Or fix it yourself," Lily said. Her tone changed. "I've seen what you can heal, Sirius." Sirius' mind jumped back to the full-moon-gone-wrong incident in their seventh year, where James had arrived in their dormitory, minutes from death, and Sirius had had to fix him because the alternative meant taking him to Madam Pomfrey and explaining that James was an illegal Animagus who'd been mauled by their Werewolf roommate.

Sirius was sure Lily was thinking of that night too; she was twisting her wedding ring with a pained expression. "Lastly, it takes between three and eight hours for your red to become purple. Once your aura is purple, it'll render you unconscious and you're considered 'dead'. You'll be retrieved immediately and won't be allowed back into the arena."

"Is that everything?"

"If I have to retrieve you when you're red, you lose twenty-five points, because you've delayed coming to a Healer and are at risk of dying. I think you gain five points for coming to be healed but you lose three points every time you come after that." Sirius nodded. _Fair enough too, or you might spend all your time being healed and not get anything done... still, if it's that or die... _"And," Lily said, as if she'd heard his thoughts, "if you die, you lose two hundred points."

"So you fail the exam." Lily nodded. Sirius let out a loud breath. _Note to self. Don't die._

"If you're still inside the arena at the end of the three days, you're awarded ten points. If your aura is green when the last day ends, and has been green for several hours before that, you earn fifty points... I think that's everything I was _told_ to tell you," she said. "Hold still for a moment." She tapped his arm with her wand and then smiled.

Sirius held it up for inspection. "I'm glowing," he said, bemused.

"You're green too," Lily said. "Try to stay that way. Remember, when you're in a safe place, say '_Hiyacintho Lux'. _That'll turn you blue for a few seconds and I'll know I can sleep. Now, advice: James' door is door twenty-seven." Sirius stored that information away. "You can't Apparate or use Portkeys," Lily said quickly, obviously trying to say as much as possible before she left. "You can't conjure water and you can't conjure food but you can make more once you've got it. Don't do anything in the next three days that you don't want the Aurors seeing," she said.

"You'll be watched constantly, and while Padfoot might be a good way to earn points, it's also a good way to end up in Azkaban." She checked her watch and jumped. "I've got to go – I need to talk to James! Good luck!" she said, kissing his cheek. She gave him a quick hug and then pinned him with her eyes. "Don't go through that door, don't even _look_ through it until you're called."

"Yes, Mum."

Lily's eyes widened and she made a funny little noise. "How-?" she began and then shook herself. "I have to go."

"Hopefully I won't see you for three days," Sirius said.

Lily laughed and shook her head. "It would be nice but I know you too well."

He laughed as she threw Floo Powder into the fire and vanished. "James'll probably miss her so much that he'll make me hex him, just so he can visit her," he told the room, with a grin. The white walls disdained to reply. Sirius shrugged and settled onto the bed to wait.

After half an hour Sirius was extremely bored. He'd eaten everything on the food tray, and the jug that had been full of water was empty too. He'd already gone through good spell combinations, for duelling, for defence and for protection but it was hard to know what he'd need without knowing _where_ he'd be fighting. Finally, the announcement came.

"Would Auror trainees please stand behind their arena doors with their wands in their pockets," the cool female voice said. There was a ten second pause, presumably to let Healers say their goodbyes and then the voice spoke again: "In a moment, the door will open, but you are to remain in the room until told to run. Anyone who disobeys will be deducted twenty-five points." There was another pause and then Sirius' door slowly swung open.

He peered out, a little tentatively since he didn't know what to expect. Sirius' door was built in to the east side of a smooth, white, brick wall which was probably around three storeys high and formed the boundary of the arena. He had been right before about it being circular; he could see it curving around and could make out the other trainees standing at their doors. In front of him was six feet of stone, a path which wrapped around the arena, and then there was a vast field of knee-high brown grass.

He could see a clump of trees about six-hundred yards away, the green a stark contrast to the brown and beyond that he could make out the other side of the white wall and the tiny figures of trainees. To his right he could see more grass and a thick wall of trees that no doubt served as a divider from the rest of the arena. The tree-wall continued all the way to the other side, broken only by a small white cottage.

_Probably one of the storerooms Lils was talking about. Go there first, I think. I'm not hungry now but I will be and it could take hours to find James, while this will only take a few minutes._

"Healers and Aurors to your stations, please," the female voice said. "Omnioculars are available for collection from your superiors. Trainees, we wish you the best of luck. Your examination commences now."

Sirius was already running. He made a beeline for the storeroom, wishing he could run as Padfoot – he was so much faster in dog form – but he got there before any of the other trainees so he had the pick of the supplies. He grabbed an empty rucksack, which he did a quick Undetectable Extension Charm on and then threw in two sleeping bags, two loaves of bread, a box of mince pies, a small pot, two water bottles and two spare jumpers. He did a quick scan of the room and upon finding nothing else of real value, raced out the door again.

It was mayhem outside. Some trainees, like Sirius, had headed straight for the storeroom, only to be caught up in duels. Others were only a few feet from their doorways. Sirius was itching to join them, but he managed to restrain himself: _No duelling until you find Prongs, and maybe not even then._ His reckless side rallied against that thought. _No duelling until I find Prongs,_ his logical side repeated. _I need someone to haul my sorry arse out of there when things go wrong._

Sirius blocked a jet of blue light and ducked around the back of the cottage and into the line of trees.As soon as he was inside the leafy shelter, the noises from the field ceased. _It's probably charmed to block sound. Which is good but it means I don't know what's coming and I can't see a thing either._

_"Perlucidus,"_ he muttered, tapping the rucksack and then his arm. _And now they can't see me._ He frowned. _But_I _can see me. This glowing green thing is going to take some getting used to... though I suppose I should be happy I'm still green. Lily's probably shocked I've lasted even this long._ With that thought to amuse him, he hoisted his rucksack onto one shoulder. _And now to find Mr Lily._ Sirius thought with a chuckle as he headed west. _Prongs won't have gone straight for cover... he'll have headed for supplies too and since he wasn't at my storeroom, there's got to be another one closer to his door._

It took Sirius five minutes to get to the west side of the arena. He was careful to touch a tree every few feet so that James could track him by scent if he was so inclined. He stuck mostly to the trees, but when he did come out he spotted a white cottage similar to the storeroom he'd visited.

_I'll bet anything I own that James went there first_... _then what? _Sirius squinted. The cottage was in the middle of a flat, flowery field with very little cover.Sirius was fairly sure James wouldn't have stayed out in the open once he had supplies and the trees where he was standing was the closest shelter; there was another forest-like region to the north, and to the north-east was a castle-like structure. _So he's here somewhere... I just need to find him._

Sirius briefly considered a Patronus message but that was risky because it was something only Order members knew and was not something Dumbledore would want shown off to the majority of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Sirius toyed with a number of other plans like setting off sparks, but in the end, he settled for the easiest and most direct option. He walked out of the line of trees, tapped his throat with his wand and shouted, "JAMES!" three or four times. He could imagine the look of disgust and embarrassment that would surely be on Moody's face, but so long as he found James, he didn't really care what Moody thought.

"Padfoot?"

"PRONGS! OVER HERE! OH, DAMN IT-!" Sirius hastily removed his Sonorus Charm as James bounded into view, a rucksack like Sirius' on his back. "Sorry, didn't realise it was still on."

"Are you Disillusioned?" James asked, squinting at a spot three feet from where Sirius actually was.

"Over here, prat," Sirius said.

"That's a yes," James muttered. He stiffened and turned his head to the side, listening.

Sirius did the same but couldn't hear anything. "Trainees," James said, blinking. "Three or four of them, from the east." He grinned. "Probably coming to see why you were shouting."

"I didn't mean to." He scowled as his ears picked up on noisy footsteps that were probably a hundred yards away. "Nosy bastards. I wasn't calling _them_."

"Could be James Gutnich," James suggested, heading for the cover of the trees. Sirius followed.

"Or it could be some git trying to earn points even if it means 'killing' us."

"Sorry," James said, "it's _definitely_ Gutnich." They both laughed. "Shall we run or shall we fight?" James asked after a pause.

"Fight and then run?" Sirius suggested.

"You should have been in Slytherin."

"My mother would disagree."

"Your mother disagrees with everything."

"Point." Sirius grinned. "If we're playing Slytherin, we should do it properly."

"You're Disillusioned, and have a plan to attack and run. How could this plan be any more Slytherin?"

"We Disillusion you."

James chuckled. "I stand corrected. Go ahead."

"_Perlucidus,"_ Sirius said, tapping James' head. "Hold on, your rucksack's still showing."

"Bet that looks funny."

"A bit, yeah. _Perlucidus._"

"Thanks."

"No problem. Did you get anything good?"

"Food," James' voice said from somewhere in front of Sirius. "I got a sack of apples, a couple of loaves of bread and a basket of cakes and biscuits and things. And a Healer's kit."

"Anything useful in that?"

"A few bandages," James said with a smile in his voice. "A bottle of Dittany, a phial of that Murtlap stuff, two Blood-Replenishing Potions and a handful of teabags that stop headaches, fever, infection and help people sleep."

"Impressive."

"I thought so. Wands only get you so far after all. What about you?"

"How'd you know I went for a supply room?" Sirius couldn't actually see him but he knew James was giving him a flat look. He laughed. "Two sleeping bags, more bread and some mince pies, a pot, two jumpers and two water bottles."

"Do the water bottles have anything in them?" James asked, his voice dropping to a whisper; whoever was coming was getting closer. Sirius squeezed his wand for reassurance.

"Didn't check," Sirius whispered back. "We'll do that later." He thought he heard James nod but he wasn't sure. "Did you say there were four of them?"

Definitely a nod this time. "Two each?" James asked.

"You should have been in Hufflepuff."

"My mother would disagree," James sniffed. Sirius laughed.

"They're over here!" a woman's voice said. "I just heard them." Sirius could just see the dark outlines of people making their way through the trees.

Sirius covered his mouth to stop his laughter. "Where are we running to?"

"East," James whispered. "West is a few more trees and then the wall."

"East," Sirius agreed.

"Where are they, Klenner?" a man's voice asked. Sirius could make out the faces of their supposed-enemies. There was, as James had joked, James Gutnich, along with a stocky male trainee Sirius didn't know, a man who went by Hunter and a tall woman named Susan Klenner.

"I don't know," she said, frowning. "They were definitely here."

_Still are,_ Sirius thought cheerfully. _You just don't know it._

There was a quiet shuffling behind him and then he was aware of James at his side. "Now," James breathed.

"_Stupefy!_" Sirius shouted. Hunter dropped with a grunt. Gutnich was growing a number of unpleasant looking tentacles which were slowly wrapping around him; trust James to find the pranking equivalent of a Binding Spell. Klenner and the wizard Sirius didn't know had been quick enough to take shelter behind a large tree trunk. They appeared every few seconds to cast a spell which was fairly pointless since they didn't know what they were aiming for. Sirius saw leaves stirring at a place to his left and knew that was James.

"Where are you?" he heard James whisper.

"Here."

Something – a hand – reached out and found his shoulder. "I've got a plan."

"Do share," he said, blocking one of Klenner's spells with an absent wave of his wand.

"He's other there!" she shrieked, pointing to the place where Sirius' Shield Charm had just vanished. _Damn._

"_Meridiem Nox!_" the wizard Sirius didn't know shouted in his deep voice.

James' hand vanished from his shoulder and Sirius dove out the way as a jet of violet light passed through where he'd been. "Bastard," Sirius said emphatically, spitting out a mouthful of leaves. "We're an hour in and he's using Killing Curses. Still alive, Prongs?" James didn't answer. _Oh, no way, _Sirius thought, picking himself off the ground. _No, he can't be dead yet_. "Jamie?!"

"_Stupefy_," James' voice said from behind Klenner and the other wizard. Sirius slumped with relief. The wizard slumped with unconsciousness.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ Sirius shouted as Klenner stepped away from James and directly into Sirius' line of sight. Her wand went whizzing into the trees.

James became visible behind her, wand trained on her chest. "Take a seat next to Louisson," he said mildly.

Klenner's eyes darted around and she suddenly launched a punch at James, just as Sirius shouted a warning. He ducked but the distraction was enough; she ran past him, dodged Sirius' Stunner and dove for her wand. "_Sectum Altum!"_ she screamed, bringing her wand around in a slashing motion.

A line of blood sprang up on James' shoulder and on his opposite forearm. His face contorted in pain. Sirius felt his own skin split along his collarbone and on his forehead. He staggered backward. "_Stupefy!"_ James shouted. She crumpled. "Padfoot?" James asked urgently, pressing a hand to his own forearm.

"I'm here. _Finite Incantatem_," he murmured.

"Merlin," James said, running forward to inspect the damage. "If you were any shorter, she'd have got your throat." Sirius pressed a hand to his collarbone and was annoyed but not surprised when it came back bloody.

"Cow," Sirius said. He stepped forward and lifted Klenner over to the tree where the other wizard – the one James had called Louisson - was slumped "_Incarcerous Infirma,"_ he muttered. Ropes wound around their two limp forms, securing them there. They'd fade after an hour but he and James would be long gone by then. "Ah, bloody hell," Sirius said, staring at his hand.

"What?" James asked, sounding worried.

"I'm orange!"

"Me too," James said with a sigh. "Come here, I'll heal you." Sirius walked over gratefully. "_Figere Sectum Altem,"_ James said, tracing his wand over the cut on Sirius' head and the one on his collarbone. "_Sana, Simul, Figere Sectum Altem." _Sirius hissed as he felt his skin healing; it was an extremely unpleasant sensation, like his skin was stretching and it itched terribly. "_Tergeo._ Done," James said, sounding tired. Sirius' aura was a lime green colour; not as green as before, but he was fairly sure he'd be back to full health soon.

"Thanks. Your turn. _Figere Brachium, Humerum. Novum Cutis._" James waited patiently without so much as flinching as his arm and shoulder knitted back together. "_Tergeo_," Sirius said. "How do you stand still for that? I always fidget."

"I've had worse," James reminded him in the embarrassed, slightly bitter tone he always used when he was referring to his month held captive by Death Eaters.

"Right," Sirius said. "East did we say?"

James nodded. "Do those water bottles have anything in them?" Sirius pulled his rucksack off, dug through it and then shook his head. "We'll find water first then," James said.

* * *

"Feeling safe?" James asked.

"Safe enough," Sirius said. They'd found a shelter of sorts, a few hundred yards from the storeroom Sirius had first visited. They were right at the edge of the line of trees looking out over the flowery field but they were within a minute's walk of a lake and also of a fence about a storey high that sectioned off another part of the arena.

"Safe enough for Lily to not be watching?"

"Sure," Sirius said. James muttered the incantation and tapped his arm with his wand. "Pass the water bottle would you, Prongs?" Sirius asked, shifting in his sleeping bag.

"What's the magic word?"

_Git,_ Sirius thought fondly. "_Accio_," he said. The bottle flew into his hand.

"Not quite the magic word I was thinking," James told him.

Sirius shrugged, swallowed and then wiped his mouth. "I got my drink, didn't I?"

"The lengths you'll go to not have to use manners," James said, leaning back with a grin. "Are you still green?"

"Yeah," Sirius said, admiring the bright glow of his skin. "You?" James smiled, his eyes becoming distant and nodded. "What?"

"Nothing," James said, going red.

"Spit it out, Jamie," Sirius said, giving his brother a shove.

James buried his face in his own sleeping bag. "I'm not saying it," he said, his voice coming out muffled.

"Prongs."

"You can't make me," James said. "It's not worth it."

"I'll hex you," Sirius warned, brandishing his wand.

"No you won't," James said, peeking out from the folds of his bedding with a confident grin. "You'd lose points for betraying an ally."

"Tell me then."

"You'll say I'm a sap!" James said, still red-faced. "I'm embarrassed for having thought it!"

"Please, Prongs. I promise I won't laugh."

James stared at him for a long moment and then mumbled something. Sirius burst out laughing. "You promised," James said in an injured tone.

"You-You're the colour of Lily's eyes!?" Sirius choked. "You're right, you're a sap. A big, big sap and you _should_be embarrassed for thinking it! _I'm_ embarrassed you thought that!" James grumbled indistinctly into his sleeping bag. A beautiful thought danced across Sirius' mind. "Wait until I tell _Moony!_" he said, barely able to contain his glee.

James made a horrified sound and dove at him. The two wrestled, and somehow - Sirius wasn't sure how it happened since he was bigger and stronger - James managed to pin him. "You are _not_ telling Moony," James said firmly, though his voice had a slightly panicky undertone. "I'll never live it down!"

"Gerroff," Sirius said, trying to push him. He scowled when James didn't budge. "When did you get so fat?"

"I'm not fat. You've gone soft," James said, prodding his arm.

"Have not!" Sirius said indignantly. "I'm in my prime!"

James shrugged. "I'm still not moving until you promise not to tell Moony."

"You'll get bored eventually," Sirius said. _There's no way Moony's missing out on this snippet of information. I'll tell Wormtail too but he probably won't care as much. _James stretched and lay down so that his back was covering Sirius' face. "If you smother me, Prongs," he said into James jumper, "I'm coming back as a ghost just to tell Moony."

James sighed and rolled off. "You're a prat."

"That's not new."

James nodded thoughtfully. "Would you really come back as a ghost?" his tone serious now.

"Of course. Snivelly wouldn't know what hit him."

"No," James said laughing. "I'm genuinely asking here."

Sirius stared at the shadowy trees for a moment before answering. "I don't think I'd hang around," he said finally. "I'd rather be properly dead than stuck half-way." James didn't say anything. "How about you?"

"I don't know," James said and Sirius was surprised to hear him sounding genuinely uncertain.

"You'd go on, Prongs," Sirius said, sitting up to face him. "Wouldn't you?"

"I don't know," James said again. "I'm not scared of dying... it's just... I've got new priorities now..."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm married now," James said, staring at the trees that towered over them.

_Lily'd never come back as a ghost though and you know it. _Sirius scanned his face. "That's not all this is about," he said, "is it?"

"Lily's pregnant," James said, looking thrilled and terrified at the same time.

"_What?!_" Sirius shouted. "Good Godric, Congratulations!" He hugged James and looked around expectantly before he remembered Lily wasn't with them.

"Thanks," James said looking dazed.

"Are you excited? You always wanted a kid."

"It's starting to sink in now, so pretty excited, yeah," James said, grinning hugely. "Scared too."

"Of being a dad?"

"A bit," James admitted, "but more because of the war. This war's been going since we were ten, Paddy, and I haven't felt truly safe since then. I don't want my kid being scared every day of his or her life."

"That's good incentive to hurry up and finish this, then," Sirius said quietly. He and James both thought about that and then Sirius smiled. "How far along is she?"

"Three months. Expected due-date is the seventh of August."

"Boy or girl?"

"No idea," James said. "I always imagined a boy, though."

"He'll have the Potter hair," Sirius said.

James laughed. "Poor kid. I hope he – or she – has Lily's eyes."

"You're such a sap. The kid's lucky I'll be around or he'd be without a male role model."

James scowled, then grinned. "Lily's worried about too _many_ male influences."

"So she should be. The kid'll be a Marauder by two."

"An Animagus by three," James laughed.

"International Quidditch Player by seven."

"And he or she will have Lily's-"

"Eyes?" Sirius suggested innocently.

James scowled. "I was going to say brains."

"That works too," Sirius said. "Have you chosen names yet?"

"Not really. I suggested we continue with the flower theme if it's a girl."

"Bet Lily loved that idea," Sirius said dryly.

They both had a good laugh. "We both like Harry for a boy,' James said after a moment.

_Harry Potter_, Sirius thought. _It certainly has a ring to it. _"Short for Harold, like Lily's dad?"

"No, just Harry," James said, "but we're not sure yet."

"You could always go for unisex names." James looked thoughtful. "There's Elvendork, Wilberforce, Bathsheba..."

"Really, Padfoot?" James asked, laughing.

"I quite like Elvendork," Sirius said, shrugging. "Elvendork Potter."

"I'd be worth this just to see Minnie's face when he or she shows up at school in eleven years."

Sirius laughed. They were quiet, both keeping to their own thoughts and then Sirius sat up. "Can I be Godfather?" he blurted. "_Please?_"

"You're seriously asking?"

"Well, I-"

"Of course you're Godfather!" James exploded. "Lils agrees, of course; Peter wouldn't know one end of a kid from the other and Moony'd be brilliant too-" _Too,_ Sirius thought, touched. _So he thinks I'll be a good Godfather._ He sniffed, hoping James hadn't heard. "-but we don't want to list him as an official Godfather because of all the custody laws about Werewolves. The last thing we want is something happening to us and having the kid shipped off to live with Petunia and Vernon- Padfoot?"

"Yeah?" Sirius said, his voice catching slightly.

"Are you _crying_?"

"I suppose that makes me a sap too, doesn't it?"

"A little bit," James said agreeably. Then he smiled the mischievous smile that had ended with so many detentions when they were in school.

"What?" Sirius asked apprehensively.

"_Wait until I tell_ _Moony!_"

Sirius wiped his eyes, growled, and launched himself at a gleeful James.


	2. Day 2

"Rise and shine, ladies." Sirius woke up and snapped to attention but he didn't open his eyes. He could hear James' steady breathing next to him. _It's _too_ steady. _So James was awake too. Two other people were breathing nearby; one lighter and slightly faster – a woman – and one louder – a man. They had familiar scents but not so familiar that he could name them. "Failure to respond to a dangerous situation... Minus two-hundred points, I think."

"Sod off, Hemsley," Sirius muttered, recognising the voice. He blinked, trying to appear disoriented, while quickly trying to sort through priorities. _James and I are safe at the moment. They'll toy with us for a bit, so for now, we're fine. The supplies are where we left them last night; Disillusioned at the base of that big tree. If we can keep those, and not lose them to these two, we'll be better off... Getting away is a priority too. I'm not sure where we'll go though... maybe over the fence..._ Sirius eyed the fence and then looked away before he could be caught staring at it. _We should be able to manage that._

"Language, Black," the woman, a tall blond named who Sirius knew as McDuff, said coolly. "You're at our mercy... I'd be being as nice as possible if I were you."

"If you were me, McDuff, Hemsley'd be dating a bloke." Neither seemed to appreciate Sirius' early morning humour – and it was early, since the sun had barely risen – and they shared a look of long-suffering. Sirius used the time to find his wand, which was tucked in an inside pocket of his sleeping bag.

"Potter's useless," Hemsley said eventually, prodding James' still form with his foot.

"He's a heavy sleeper," Sirius said and was rewarded by the slightest twitch of James' lips.

"If this was real, he'd be dead," McDuff said curtly, brushing her fringe out of her eyes. "He's probably just lost a thousand points for being such an easy target."

"Easy target?" Sirius scoffed. "He's practically cocooned in protective charms. You're lucky your foot's still attached, Hemsley." _Not very bright, are you? _As the two of them moved closer to James for a better look at his non-existent wards, Sirius cast a non-verbal Shrinking Spell at the rucksacks and Summoned them. He stuffed them into the pocket of his jeans.

"There aren't any wards, there," McDuff said a moment later.

"I'm a little disappointed," Hemsley said. "I thought you two would be good. Everyone else seems to think so but here you are, half-asleep and unarmed and with no supplies but your sleeping bags."

"Ah, well," Sirius said, feeling proud for keeping a straight face.

"What does Moody see in you?" Hemley pressed.

"He's an old friend. Worked with James' dad."

"Told you it'd be something like that," McDuff said dismissively. "Seems you aren't good for anything but winning points," she said with a condescending look. Behind them, Sirius could see James silently detaching himself from his sleeping bag, with his wand raised. She raised her wand at Sirius, slowly and deliberately, as if trying to make him guess what spell she was about to use.

"_Expelliarmus,"_ James said. McDuff jumped as her wand flew out of her hand. Hemsley turned around, startled, but couldn't raise his wand in time to deflect the ropes that were winding around McDuff, or the Disarmer that Sirius had sent his way. "Minus two-thousand points," James said firmly, once they were both bound, "for treating this like a game. If we were Death Eaters, there's no way you'd hesitate to tie us up or knock us out. Instead, you talked for five minutes and gave us time to think up an escape plan. If we were Death Eaters, you'd be dead."

Hemsley glared at them but McDuff was still fighting against her ropes. Sirius retrieved both of their wands and lay them on the ground, a few yards away from where they were. "If you were Death Eaters, there's no way we'd do this," he said. "You'd already be half-way to Azkaban right now."

"But you're not Death Eaters and, while we don't particularly like you, we don't want you to fail your exam. Those ropes will loosen in an hour," James told them, accepting his rolled-up sleeping bag from Sirius with a nod of thanks. He tapped it with his wand, shrinking it, and stuffed it into the back pocket of his jeans.

"Best of luck," Sirius said brightly. McDuff told him, very descriptively, exactly what she thought of his luck and where he should put it.

James shook his head and made a tsking noise. "Language, McDuff. Let's go, Pads." McDuff's screams of outrage followed them, as did Hemsley's cries of 'Cowards!'. James jaw tightened but like Sirius, realised that they were trying to provoke them. After another few yards, James seemed to decide he'd had enough of being insulted. "I wouldn't be so loud if I were you," he called over his shoulder. "You'll draw attention to yourselves and you've got no way to fight back for the next hour."

"Well that shut them up," Sirius said, pleased, as they reached the huge, white fence.

"Did you get the rucksacks while I was 'asleep'?"

"Yep," Sirius said proudly, patting his pocket. They both looked up at the fence. "Are we going over?"

James shrugged. "I suppose so. If we don't like whatever's over there, we can always come back."

"Well said, Mr Prongs."

James bowed. "Thank you, Mr Padfoot. Ladies first."

"Very funny."

"I thought so," James said, grinning. "Do you want me to levitate you over?"

Sirius eyed the structure thoughtfully. "I might do it the muggle way."

James bit his lip. "One thing first."

"Yeah?"

"I want my rucksack back before you land on your arse and flatten it."

Sirius scowled. "Here," he said, tapping the rucksack with his wand. It became visible again and grew back to its normal size. James accepted it with a nod of thanks. Sirius repeated the process with his own because, while he'd never admit it, James was probably right about him landing on his arse. "Are you jumping too?"

James stared at him oddly, shook his head and tapped the wall with his wand. Gleaming silver rungs sprouted like bizarre plants. "Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam," he said grinning as he scrambled up to sit on top of the wall. Sirius laughed; it was the Potter family motto and loosely translated, it meant 'I'll either find a way or make one'. James peered around, and his eyes widened."Get up here, Padfoot," James said urgently. _Ah well, here goes..._ Sirius ran at the wall and jumped. He hit it rather harder than he'd expected but his fingers did curl around the top of the wall. _Now can I pull myself up?_

"You right there, Paddy?" James asked, laughing.

"Mmph," Sirius said, unable to do much more than hang there. His fingers slipped on the smooth brick and then he was falling backward. He braced for impact, but when it came it was softer than it should have been. _A Cushioning Charm...? _Sirius looked up at James who was in danger of falling off himself if he laughed any harder.

"How's your ego?" James managed to ask.

"Bruised, but there's a good chance of a full recovery," Sirius called back. He gathered himself off the ground, brushed off his jeans and climbed up the rungs James had conjured. "What happened to doing it the muggle way?"

"_I_ didn't cast the rungs, I climbed them," Sirius said smugly. "No magic whatsoever."

"And the ego's back," James said, grinning. Sirius grinned too and Vanished the rungs. He turned to the other side of the arena. Stretching out on the other side of the fence was grey, rocky terrain, flat except for a few scattered rock formations and a cluster of orange and white buildings. On the far side, Sirius could see what looked like a river that connected to the lake they'd taken their water from last night. The fence was not continuous as Sirius had first thought; it lowered as it got closer to the outside of the arena until it disappeared altogether.

"Where are we going now?" he asked.

"Down," James said. "We're targets up here."

Sirius couldn't argue with that. The two dropped down on the other side of the fence. For what seemed like the thousandth time, Sirius found himself wishing he could transform and make use of Padfoot's enhanced senses and agility. _And I'd be better camouflaged_, he thought ruefully. _A blue jumper probably wasn't the smartest thing to wear._

James seemed to be wishing he could use Prongs too; he was certainly walking like his animal-self; tentative, almost silent steps, head held high, eyes bright and wary. "Shall we head for the buildings?" James asked.

"Most of the trainees will be there," Sirius commented with a grin. "Are we chasing points now, Mr Prongs?"

James grinned back. "Perhaps, Mr Padfoot."

"After you then."

The pair made their way across the sparse, open landscape by running from boulder to boulder. It would be all too easy for any of the other trainees to see them coming and organise an ambush. They stopped once at a little cave-like structure and when they set off again, their water bottles were lighter and James had two less apples. It took them another ten minutes at their careful, evasive pace but eventually they reached the buildings, none of which were orange as Sirius had first thought, but white; some appeared orange because they were reflecting the light of a fire which had been started in the centre of the cluster of buildings.

"Can you see anything?" Sirius whispered, peering around the corner of a building.

James shook his head. "Just the fire."

"How thick can they be?" Sirius muttered. "A bloody fire's going to draw attention to the place."

"It could be a diversion," James said, casting a quick glance around.

"Hadn't thought of that," Sirius said, feeling paranoia creeping up on him. He shook himself. "What do we do?"

James twirled his wand between his fingers. "Assume it's a diversion. That way we're prepared for anything."

Sirius nodded. "Shall we go up or around?"

"Up," James said after a moment. "They won't be expecting that." He grinned suddenly. "Are you climbing this too?"

Sirius was so busy scowling at James he didn't notice his feet leaving the ground. "_Wingardium Leviosa_," he muttered once he had stable footing on the roof. James shot off the ground, though he wasn't as scared by the quick movement as Sirius had hoped. _Damn Seekers_, he thought as James landed with a grin. _That reminds me; we'll have to go flying again soon. We haven't been in ages._

"Again!" James whispered.

"Prat," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. _We'll play with James' Snitch, first one to catch it wins... it'll probably be him, though if I teamed up with Moony the two of us would probably be able to get it... _He and James flattened themselves against the roof tiles and crawled forward. "Hey, Prongs?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you still have that old Snitch?"

James grinned and patted his pocket. "Yeah, why?"

"Just wonderin- Bloody buggering hell," Sirius said emphatically as James let out a quiet whistle next to him. The fire was bigger than he'd first thought, and around it, dozing on conjured mattresses were – Sirius did a quick headcount – fifteen trainees. Two of them were awake, chatting quietly.

"Some alliance," James murmured. "That's half of them right there!" He was right; there were thirty trainees in the arena altogether.

"We were wrong."

"What about?"

"The fire isn't a diversion and they're not thick. They're confident."

"Wonder why," James muttered sarcastically.

Sirius laughed before he could smother it. James shushed him. "Sorry. I wonder why they're here and not in the castle."

"Dunno. They've got a good location here though. I'd bet all of these houses have supplies in them and it's flat all the way around so they'd see anyone who was coming."

"They didn't see us."

"I think we got lucky," James said, nodding over to the two who were awake. "Blackburn isn't exactly observant and Read looks like he's just woken up."

"What's that got to do with it?"

"They're probably supposed to be on lookout duty," James said.

"While everyone else sleeps in," Sirius said, checking his watch. "It's ten-thirty for Godric's sake!"

"Shh!" James said. They both ducked as Read glanced over.

"Sorry."

James waved off the apology. "Don't worry about it. What did you say the time was?"

"Ten-thirty."

"Well past the time they should have been up by," James said.

"I think they need our help," Sirius said seriously.

James' mischievous grin was back. "What do you have in mind?"

"Er... Not much actually," he admitted sheepishly. "Where's Moony when we need him?"

James laughed. "Probably celebrating because he's rid of us for three days."

Sirius laughed. "Probably. We'll have to be extra boisterous upon getting out of here to make up for it." Read and Blackburn looked over again; Sirius and James had ducked down again as they tried to stifle their laughter. "They probably think this place is haunted."

"They can think whatever they want," James said shortly, "as long as they don't start waking people up before we've had our fun."

"You've got an idea?" James nodded. "Brilliant. What is it?"

"I heard a rumour once," James said innocently, "that they've got something of a deer problem in the arena."

"Prongs, no," Sirius hissed, checking for listeners. "Remember what Lily said?"

James scowled. "Of course I do. And do you remember how many times I've tried to explain to you the difference between a deer and a stag?"

"Yeah, but I never listen."

"Prat," James said fondly. "When I said deer, I meant deer."

"I see," Sirius said grinning as the pieces feel together. "Could those deer be persuaded to stampede through the trainee's camp?"

Grey eyes met hazel and two young men grinned before they slid off of the roof and hurried away.

Five minutes later, both of them were red-faced and sweaty, but in front of them was quite a substantial collection of rocks. "Think it'll be enough?"

"I could make an army out of this," James said, helping Sirius organise the rocks into lines.

"Settle with a herd for now," Sirius said.

"Will do. Can you keep watch?" Sirius nodded and retreated to give James room to work in. He could hear James muttering, very quickly, in Latin. The spell he was using was a slight variation on the one he used to become an Animagus. Obviously the subject was a rock and not James himself, and he was making deer not stags, but aside from that, it was very much the same. The deer would respond well to James' thoughts, in the same way that James' Animagus form responded to his human thoughts, but, since they were external manifestations, they would drain his energy in a way that his Animagus form wouldn't.

"How are you doing, Jamie?" Sirius called.

James looked up from petting the muzzle of one of the does he'd created and moved on to the next rock. Sirius grinned and went back to scanning their surroundings. _So far no movement and no more noise from the trainees' camp. Hopefully they're all still asleep._

"Done," James called tiredly about ten minutes later. Sirius dug out a water bottle and a slice of bread. "Thanks," James said, staggering forward. One of the does moved to support him. "Thank you," James said. The doe snorted softly.

"Useful for rocks, aren't they?" Sirius said. "And you lied."

James followed his gaze to the young stag. "They needed a leader," he said shrugging as he stuffed bread into his mouth.

"A leader who looks uncannily familiar," Sirius said, though he could probably list ten or more differences between this stag and Prongs; the eyes were brown instead of hazel, the antlers were shorter and thicker than Prongs', its coat was lighter and not as messy, it wasn't as tall and it certainly didn't look strong enough to deal with Moony... the list went on.

"He looks familiar because the incantation is familiar," James said shrugging. Then he grinned. "His name's Rocky."

Sirius pointed to the doe next to James. "That's Roxanne, right?"

"Yep, and this is Pebbles."

Sirius laughed and shook his head before James could choose names for the other twenty. "We should send them to do what they were created for before you exhaust yourself."

James surveyed his arm with a thoughtful nod. "Probably a good idea," he said. He strode straight up to the stag – Rocky – and nodded once. "Off you go." Rocky – Sirius sniggered internally – bleated once and trotted forward. The does followed and within seconds, they were all running at full pace. "Let's get back to the roof," James said, passing Sirius his water bottle. "I want to see this."

By the time they got up, the plan was in motion; the trainees were waking up. The general reaction seemed to be bemusement and then panic once they realised they had limited time and space to get away. Some tried to Stun the deer but Sirius – since James was focusing on keeping them moving – was casting Shield Charms to protect them. The trainees fled with the herd on their heels. "They'll be back," Sirius said. "All their stuff is here."

"Not for a while if I can help it," James said, smiling, though his eyes were distant. "We should check the buildings." James glanced at his arm again. "You take the left one, I'll check the right."

"The name 'Marauder' seems awfully appropriate, doesn't it?"

"It does, though I doubt this is what Old Minnie had in mind when she accused us of marauding around," James said with a laugh. Sirius headed left.

Sirius' building had food and lots of it. He grabbed a few packets of crisps, a wheel of cheese, a pot of honey and a handful of teabags before sprinting out the door again. "Prongs?"

"Padfoot! Get in here!" James shouted, sounding slightly off. Sirius dashed through the door of James' building. There was no food in this one, but there was an abundance of clothing, camping gear and healing kits. That wasn't what had made James call him though. James had called because of the people. There were five of them, bound back to back in the middle of the room. Trainees. Shacklebolt and Louisson were straining against their bindings and the other three were unconscious. Sirius recognised Ackerly and Austen, but only just; both were covered in blood and Sirius would have bet everything he owned that their auras would be red. The third was an old friend of Sirius' – a woman named Lyra Finch. _But why would they bind them..."? _

"Are you going to help me?" James demanded, neatly severing the ropes with his wand. As soon as he could move, Louisson ran for the door. "You're welcome!" James called after him.

"Git," Sirius muttered. Kingsley had a broken leg but Sirius had no idea how to heal it; it had been broken by a spell. "_Enervate,_" he said, moving on to the unconscious prisoners.

Austen opened her eyes and pressed a hand to her head. "Ow," she said, getting up.

"Are you all right?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, thank you." She stumbled over to a shelf and found herself a first aid kit. She seemed to know what she was doing so Sirius left her to it. James was helping Lyra, so that left Sirius with Ackerly.

"_Enervate."_

"Black?"

"Ackerly."

Ackerly sat up, grimacing and put a hand to the lump on his head. "Where's my wand?"

"No idea."

Ackerly sighed. "No hard feelings, right?"

"Huh?" Ackerly smiled apologetically and punched Sirius in the stomach, hard. Sirius doubled over, gasping unable to stop Ackerly wrenching his wand out of his hand and punching his head too for good measuer. _No hard feelings, my arse,_ he thought viciously as Ackerly ran for the door. Austen dropped her first aid kit and ran after him.

"Prongs," Sirius gasped. "Wand."

James' head snapped up. "_Expelliarmus!"_ he shouted. The spell knocked Ackerly off his feet and sent him flying out the door. The wand landed with a clatter next to James who didn't bother to pick it up because Sirius was already crawling for it. "Are you all right, Pads?"

"I'll have one hell of a bruise," Sirius said hoarsely, clutching his throbbing head. "But I'm fine." _I hope._ "Pale green." _It's not really a lie. Pale green is close to yellow._

"Good," James said, relieved.

Lyra sat up, disoriented. "Black?" she said, spying Sirius.

"How are you, Finch?" he asked. She, at least, Sirius trusted. As a former Hufflepuff, she was extremely fair.

"I've been better," she said with a grimace. "And Potter's here too." She smiled. "Can't say I'm surprised. The two of you- Oh! Kingsley!" she said. "How's the leg?"

"Sore," Kingsley said with a grimace. "How's the heart?"

"I took two Stunners at once," she told James and Sirius looking upset. "I froze up. It was stupid of me, but I couldn't help it, but it got Dan k-killed." She sighed and blinked away tears, her usual brusque tone returning. "It _was_ terribly unfair of Hemsley and what's-her-name to gang up on me like that but they're just trying to pass I suppose, so I can't really stay angry at them, especially when it's my fault."

"_Hufflepuffs,_" James mouthed, rolling his eyes. Sirius coughed to hide his laugh.

"But it's fine, thank you, Kingsley. I'm still green."

"Good to hear," he said, grimacing as he tried to stand. Sirius could sympathise; he didn't think his head would be able to deal with any vertical movement yet and his chest was still tight.

"Oh good!" Lyra said, pulling her wand out of her boot. "I hid it when I saw there were four of them. Do you think I'll get points for keeping my wand safe?"

"Probably," James said from the other side of the room; he was loading his rucksack with various things from the shelves.

"I don't suppose there's much chance of any of you helping me get back to my door, is there?" Kingsley asked.

"Where's the break, Shacklebolt?" James asked, crouching down.

"Shin."

"I can fix it for you."

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

James ignored him. "How was it broken?"

"A spell, courtesy of David Read."

James' eyes were far-away as he nodded. "I can fix that." He made a face. "It'll hurt," he said, "but please sit still." Kingsley didn't look convinced but he nodded. _Why he wasn't in Gryffindor I'll never know_, Sirius though, watching the former Ravenclaw. "_Tibium Emendo," _James said. There was a loud cracking noise. Kingsley's dark skin had lightened by several shades. "Wait," James said as he made to move. "_Reparifors." _Kingsley paled even more and – in a move that didn't really surprise Sirius – threw up. _That's why he wasn't in Gryffindor. _Lyra wrinkled her nose and Vanished the mess with her wand. "Better?" James asked.

Kingsley wiped his mouth. "Much, actually. Thank you." Kingsley got to his feet and tested his leg. Lyra was ready to catch him if he fell but it wasn't an issue. Privately, Sirius would have liked to see Lyra, who was fairly short, try to catch Kingsley who was about as tall as Sirius and as solid.

"No problem." James came to sit next to Sirius. Up close, he looked pale. "Can you stand?" Sirius thought about it. He probably could if he had to, but not easily.

"No," he said, because shaking his head would probably make him sick. James tapped his chest and then his temple with his wand. A wave of heat passed through Sirius' entire body and settled under his ribcage and behind his eyes. It burned for a moment and then the feeling faded. Sirius stood carefully but he needn't have worried. He felt fine and his aura was getting greener by the second. James got up too and went to rifle through a large trunk in the corner of the room Sirius joined him; Lyra and Kingsley were discussing the 'death' of their former ally. "Potions?" he asked, surprised when he reached James. James nodded, squinting at a bottle before he tossed it into his rucksack. "What was that?"

"Sleeping Draught," James said, pocketing another, identical bottle. Sirius kept a few as well. Some – like the Essence of Euphoria or the Teething Tonic – were useless, but some – like the Pepper-up Potion and the tiny phial of Shrinking Solution – were good things to have, even if they never needed them. "Thank you. _Finite Incantatem_," James murmured.

"Hmm?" Sirius said.

"The deer have done their part," James said.

"Were you still holding those spells?" Sirius asked. James nodded, his eyes not quite focused. "You look exhausted."

"A bit," James said, glancing at his arm.

"What colour are you?" Sirius asked.

"Yellow," James said, staring at the ground.

"You're a shocking liar, Prongs."

"Orange."

"More red or more yellow?"

"Red," James mumbled.

"Damn." Sirius passed him a water bottle, and three of the little mince pies. "Eat."

"You can't eat water," James said cheekily.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Jamie."

James drank but passed the food back. "The trainees will be coming back soon," he said. Lyra and Kingsley looked over at this. "We need to go."

"Not until you eat," Sirius said stubbornly.

"We don't have time."

Sirius shrugged. "I say we do." He pulled bread out of his rucksack and drizzled honey over it. "Are you two hungry?"

"You have food!" Lyra squealed, flinging her arms around Sirius' neck. Sirius freed himself from her grip and passed her the loaf of bread which she sliced with her wand and applied liberal amounts of honey to. "Do you have enough water for me to have some?" she asked.

"There's a refilling charm on the bottle," Sirius said, passing it over. "And we have two bottles." Lyra had a few mouthfuls and passed the bottle to Kingsley.

"You're my new best friend," Lyra announced. "Sorry, Kingsley."

Kingsley chuckled, accepting a mince pie from Sirius. James finally gave in and sat, eating everything Sirius passed him. He also dug his sack of apples out and passed it around; Lyra and Kingsley took one to eat and Kingsley pocketed one as well. "What colour are you now?" he asked James who was on his sixth pie.

"Dark yellow," James said.

"Excellent." Sirius packed the food away and he and James shrunk their rucksacks.

Lyra had wandered over to the small window that looked out over the fire pit. "Bother," she said. "Some of them are back."

James looked at Sirius, his expression an odd mix of irritation and gratitude. "How many?"

"Four, so far."

"We could just stay here," Kingsley said.

"They'll come looking eventually," James said absently. "And soon I'd imagine. They had supplies and prisoners in here and they'll want to see if they still do."

"Bother," Lyra said again, ducking as – presumably – someone looked outside looked in her direction.

James tapped his foot on the ground once to get Sirius' attention. Sirius looked up. James' eyes flicked to Lyra and Kingsley who were both taking careful looks out the window and then back to Sirius. He raised his eyebrows. Sirius nodded slowly and then lifted his own eyebrows. James nodded too.

"I have a plan," Sirius said. James looked up interested. "We get out of here the same way we got in."

"With deer?" James asked.

Sirius nodded. "You can turn us all into deer."

"Remember what Lily said?"

"You're brilliant at Transfiguration," Sirius said, lowering his voice to a whisper "No one will doubt for a moment that you can turn yourself_ into_ something. You just won't be able to turn back."

"And we'll go to Lily," James said nodding.

"_You'll_ go to Lily. The rest of us are green. She can change you back or you can just transform – I doubt they'd be watching the rooms."

"But I'm dark yellow. That's a few hours."

"You'll need it to recover. You've got three people to transfigure and you need to do your own as well."

"Point. You three'll be stuck as deer though."

"Stags, Prongs," Sirius said, grinning.

"Whatever," James said, falling into Sirius' usual role.

"I don't mind and I doubt the others will. And we can set up some way to win points tonight, since we'll all be rested."

"Fine," James said. "Oi. Finch, Shacklebolt."

The other two spun. "We have a way out," Sirius said.

"But it'll mean you have to stick with us until tonight," James said.

"I can think of worse things," Kingsley said dryly.

"You don't know them very well do you, Kingsley?" Lyra said. "They were known as the terrible two."

"Were not!" Sirius said.

"You were by my year," Lyra said, laughing. "And with Lupin you were the troublesome three."

"Figures with Remus we'd go from terrible to troublesome," James said to no one in particular.

"He's a good influence," Lyra said, shrugging.

"How would you know?" Sirius asked. "He might be the evil one."

"He's not. I dated him, remember?"

"Oh, yeah!" Sirius said. "Fourth year, right?"

"I was sixth year, but yes, you were fourth year."

"What's the plan?" Kingsley interrupted.

"Right," James said, holding up a hand to keep Sirius quiet. _He's in Head Boy mode_, Sirius thought with a smirk. "To get in here, Sirius and I transfigured rocks into deer and had them chase the other trainees away. I can make us all deer and hopefully they'll think we're stragglers and let us pass without much trouble. We'll head in a straight line to the east arena wall, go around the fence and back into the strip of forest where Sirius and I were last night. I'll go to my Healer, get her to change me back and then I'll come back for you three."

"Could you Disillusion us instead?" Lyra asked.

"Doesn't work," Kingsley said. "You were unconscious by that point but they were talking about it; they set up wards around the buildings so no one can sneak in."

"Must be some quality warding," Sirius said dryly.

"Fine," Lyra said. "I'd better be pretty though. And someone take my wand. I don't want it to get damaged when you transfigure me." Sirius sighed and tucked her wand into his pocket alongside his own.

"Are you all right to lead?" Sirius asked James.

"Of course." James grinned. "I'll be in my element. Are you ready, Finch?"

"No, but go ahead," she said nervously. James walked in a circle around her tense form, chanting quietly. A moment later, a dark-coated, dainty doe stood in her place.

"Are you all right?" James asked in a calm, quiet voice. She inclined her head slowly. "Walk around a bit," James said. "Get used to your new body." She snorted softly and tottered out of Kingsley's way. James repeated the process with Kingsley, who made a rather intimidating stag; he was taller than Prongs and more strongly built too. "Walk around," James said. "And watch your antlers," he added hastily as Kingsley accidentally knocked over shelf. "Padfoot?"

"Ready," Sirius said. He wasn't nervous at all, knowing James was more than capable of transfiguring him, though he was curious to see how being a stag compared to being a dog. Before he knew it, he was changing; he felt his neck stretching, and had to double over to compensate for the unfamiliar weight of antlers on his head. He felt his ears changing shape and his head narrowing and finally his hands fisted, becoming hooves and a layer of soft hair sprung up to cover his skin. "This is weird," he tried to say, but it came out sounding like "Weihh!" instead.

_Feels like I'm on stilts,_ he thought, taking a few careful steps. _How Prongs manages to run and push Moony around is a mystery- Bugger! _He danced backward but his antlers still caught on a coil of rope. He shook his head and nearly fell over. _These damn things are heavy_, he thought, trying to keep his head straight. Prongs trotted over with all the ease of experience and bleated once, softly. _I don't know what you're saying,_ Sirius thought apologetically, but his body seemed to. He fell into place on James' left while Kingsley took the right and Lyra moved in between them.

James nosed the door fully open and stepped out carefully, to make sure his antlers didn't catch. Sirius followed and got through easily enough, but outside made his instincts scream; as a prey animal, his eyes were positioned so that he could see more. That hadn't been a big deal inside because there wasn't much to see, but out here... If he'd been Padfoot, he would have yelped or perhaps whimpered. As a stag, a funny bleating noise escaped him.

There were a few people moving around outside and Sirius automatically moved closer to Prongs. Kingsley and Lyra did the same. Noises and smells – particularly those he associated with humans - assailed him on all sides and instinct was telling him to run and get as far from there as possible. How James was still so calm was beyond his comprehension. Even Kingsley, who was usually unflappable, seemed uncomfortable and appeared to be struggling to reconcile his instincts with his human mind. And Lyra...

Lyra really was struggling. Her head was whipping back and forward as she tried to look at every sound and her hooves were shifting constantly. Sirius nudged Prongs' flank and tilted his head in her direction. Prongs turned around just to see Lyra lose her head and bolt out into the masses of people. Prongs met Sirius' eye and gestured in the opposite direction. Sirius was familiar with the movement from full moons, even if he was seeing it from a slightly different perspective.

It meant 'get out of here'.

But Sirius wasn't going to do that. Not here, when they only had each other. Prongs turned and ran after Lyra who was startling the trainees as she tried to get away. Sirius doubted she realised it, but if she continued on in that direction, she'd end up at the fence and with no way to get over, have to walk an extra few hundred yards, possibly past more humans.

"What is with these deer?!" one of the trainees demanded, diving out of Lyra's way. Prongs managed to cut her off and trap her against the wall of a building. Even from a distance, Sirius could see that Lyra was shaking and making quiet crying noises, though she seemed to be calming down. More trainees were returning, appearing from the gaps between buildings – Sirius counted ten of them – and all of them stopped to stare at Prongs and Lyra, who were acting very strangely for deer, huddled together, his very obviously trying to shelter her from the rest of them until she stopped making sobbing noises.

"I'll bet you they're enchanted!" one of the female trainees exclaimed. "That's why they attacked! It's a test from the Aurors!"

_Or it's us trying to earn points,_ Sirius thought, _though your guess is a little too close for my liking._

"_Finite Incantatem!_" the trainee cried.

Prongs ducked and the spell crashed into the wall above his antlers. He gave Lyra a nudge but she didn't move._Get out of there, you two_, Sirius thought edgily.

"_Finite Incantatem!" _another trainee shouted. His spell just missed Lyra's foreleg. Sirius nudged Kingsley who stepped forward awkwardly to help Prongs with Lyra. Sirius charged at the trainees – though his instincts were trying to make him run in the opposite direction - the same way he'd seen Prongs charge Moony and once, Death Eaters.

Someone put a Shield Charm up in time and Sirius bounced off and almost ended up in the firepit. Prongs charged from the other side, leaving Kingsley to try to coax Lyra away from the wall. Sirius ran at them again, only to have his hoof slip on the smooth stone ground. He toppled over and lost track of things for a few moments.

Sirius blinked. He was on the ground, his legs folded under him at odd angles. He wasn't aware of any injuries which was partially luck on his behalf, but mostly because James was keeping the trainees distracted. It took Sirius precious time to figure out how to stand and even then it wasn't graceful. Kingsley was having limited success with Lyra; they were moving, but slowly. Sirius charged again, only to swerve to avoid a Shield Charm and James danced out of the way of conjured ropes.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" _Should have known Gutnich would be part of this alliance_, Sirius thought darkly.

"Deer, James," said one of the trainees. "They're enchanted."

Gutnich looked surprised for a moment and then, quicker than Sirius could comprehend, his wand was out. "_Finite Incantatem!_" Kingsley ducked out off the way but the spell hit Lyra, whose form flickered. She landed on the ground as a human, looking rumpled.

"They're people!" screamed one of the trainee women.

"Finch," Gutnich said. Lyra stood, managing to look defiant, even though her face was lined with tears. "So that one's Kingsley...?" Kingsley-stag freezing was enough of an answer. "And the other two... Ackerly and Austen?" Prongs ran back over toward Sirius, his hazel eyes worried. "Don't let them get away!" Gutnich shouted, training his wand on James. "_Finite Incantatem!"_ The spell missed but only just.

"Run!" Lyra shouted at Kingsley, giving his flank a smack. He jumped and ran after Prongs, falling into line beside Sirius. _Running really isn't that hard,_ Sirius thought, _as long as you don't over-think it. _His sensitive ears could hear Lyra's footsteps on the stony ground behind them, and behind her were the shouts of more spells and the sounds of pursuit.

"This is ridiculous!" one of the female trainees shouted. "Just kill them!"

"_Meridiem Nox!"_ shouted another. Other voices were quick to repeat the incantation.

_Damn. Damn, damn, damn,_ Sirius thought as they ran. Jets of light flew over his shoulders, making him jump each time but he didn't dare look back. His only chance was to keep running, dodge every now and then and hope the trainees missed. They were getting away, though. Their legs were longer, except for Lyra but she was keeping up for now since she wasn't trying to fight at the same time. They were going to get away...

One of the trainees stepped out from between the buildings, cutting Sirius, James, Kingsley and Lyra off. Sirius backed off quickly. "_Meridiem Nox_," Sirius heard the man say calmly.

Sirius danced back, knowing he'd be too slow... the spell missed him. _Thank Merlin!_ And then he heard a high-pitched "Oh!" of surprise and a quiet thump. _No! No, no... _He turned, already knowing what he'd see. Lyra was dead. Not really of course, she'd be fine once she was out of the arena, but she'd failed her exam. Sirius stared at her uncannily still body. She was glowing purple for everyone to see, the spell had drained the colour from her skin and her breathing was so quiet that even his sensitive ears could hardly hear it.

"_Meridiem Nox,_" said the same trainee who'd killed her.

This spell would have hit Sirius but Kingsley shoved him out of the way. They both tumbled to the ground in a mix of lanky legs and antlers but they were unhurt, and the impact got Sirius thinking straight again. _Get out,_he thought,_ there's nothing we can do for her but if we stay, _we're_ dead._ Kingsley leapt to his feet and charged the trainee, buying them time but Sirius could hear the rest of the trainees were closer and would be upon them at any moment.

He stood – quicker than last time, though he was still shaky – and made his way over to Prongs, who was nudging Lyra's body. He was trembling. Sirius nudged his shoulder and Prongs started, twisting around. When he saw who it was, the anger in his eyes dimmed to be replaced with grief. _Let's go_, Sirius tried to convey with a flick of his head. Prongs took one last look at Lyra and trotted past Sirius, gaining speed as he went. Sirius ran after him and Kingsley stopped harassing the trainee who had killed Lyra and followed.

They ran for twenty minutes straight, around the fence as James had said, and through the line of trees to the west side of the arena, where James' door, number twenty-seven, was. Kingsley's dark coat was glistening with sweat and Prongs' breath was ragged and he was dragging his hooves.

Sirius was exhausted too, though he felt guilty for complaining, even to himself; Kingsley had just lost a close friend and was still likely recovering from his broken leg and James had used huge amounts of magic today. And, though he hadn't known Lyra very well – both Kingsley and Sirius knew her better than he did – Sirius was fairly sure he was taking her 'death' the hardest of them all.

As they slowed to a walk, Prongs tripped over his own unwilling hooves and fell ungracefully to the ground, where he stayed, his sides twitching. _Come on, Jamie, we're nearly there_, Sirius thought, nudging the left side of his shoulder. Kingsley walked around to his left and together, the two of them managed to help him up.

They stayed that way, walking awkwardly with James sandwiched between them until they reached the door. _He's probably red by now, _Sirius thought, shooting him a sideways glance. Prongs used his antlers to push the door open and then reversed in. Sirius was just wondering how he was going to fit through when his form rippled and an exhausted looking James Potter took his place.

"Sleep," he croaked as Lily hurried up behind to support him. "I'll see you... soon, hopefully." Sirius snorted once and he and Kingsley retreated back into the trees.


	3. Day 3

Lily guided James to the small bed; she could feel him trembling and didn't need a Diagnostic Charm to tell her his legs were about to collapse. Despite his exhausted state, however, he still managed to plant a kiss on the top of her head.

"I was about to come and get you," she told him as he lay down.

"Why?" James asked. "I'm orange."

Lily frowned. "You weren't a moment ago," she said slowly. "You were more like maroon."

James made a face. "Don't remind me," he said wincing as she prodded his side with her wand. "I thought I might actually drop dead with exhaustion."

"It wouldn't have surprised me," she said. _How he made it here after using all that magic... He's amazing..._ She smiled to herself. _I suppose I've known that for a while, though,_ she thought.

"Ah well, however it happened, I'm only here for six hours."

"Did you do something?" she asked suddenly. _That's the only explanation. He was maroon until he told Sirius and Kingsley to sleep and then changed before my eyes... But how...?_

"I don't have a wand," James said, shrugging. "I was Prongs, remember?"

"Wandless magic, perhaps?"

"Maybe. I was worrying about having to spend a long time here, with the other two out there as stags."

_That would do it. _"Yes, whose idea was that?"

"Paddy's."

"I should have known," she said with a sigh."Here, drink this."

"Is Lyra all right?" James asked as soon as he could talk. Lily watched his aura brighten until it was a pale yellow colour and gave a satisfied nod. "Lils?"

James seemed to be getting more agitated with every second that went by as she didn't answer. "She's fine," Lily said with a smile. "I saw her on the way here, knowing you'd ask. She told me to tell you thank you for trying to help her and she's sorry for panicking." James nodded. Lily took a closer look at his face. "Oh, no. Don't you dare," she said.

"Don't what?" James asked.

"Blame yourself, or feel guilty or whatever it is that made you look like that." James didn't say anything. "James Charlus Potter..." Lily began, brandishing her wand threateningly.

"Yes, Lillian Faye Evans?"

"It wasn't your fault."

"I should have done something. Distracted them so she could run. Knocked her out the wa-"

"She doesn't blame you," Lily said honestly. "I spoke with her before, remember. She's annoyed with herself for freezing up."

"She 'died'! As her ally, it was my job to stop that from happening."

"You might have lost a few points," Lily admitted, "but you'll make those up quickly."

"That's not the point."

"What is?" Lily asked a little frustrated. "She's not really dead."

"But she could have been. If it was real, she would have been. Sirius could have been. You could have been."

"I wasn't there," she said gently, sensing this was his biggest problem.

"But you are out there, where it counts!" James said, trying to sit up. Lily forced him back down. "What if I make a mistake out there, or one of the plans doesn't work like it should?"

"James, out there you wouldn't have tried something like this. You'd have Apparated or made a Portkey, but you couldn't do that here."

"I still should have done something," James muttered.

"What could you have done?" she asked. "And I don't mean hypothetically. I want you to tell me a specific moment where you could have done something differently." While he thought, she retrieved a Pepper-Up Potion from her Healer's kit. "Well?" she asked, passing him the bottle.

"I can't," James said, drinking it. He scrunched up his nose as steam billowed out of his ears. "Urgh, always hated these."

"I know," Lily said, hiding a smile. "And that's my point. Perhaps if you'd frozen up, or if you'd missed someone with a spell, it would be understandable, if not advisable for you to blame yourself. But today, you did everything you could have and sometimes that just isn't enough."

"I hate it when you're right."

"No you don't," Lily said, laughing. "I'm right all the time and you keep telling me you love me. I think you hate it when you're _wrong_."

"Probably." He grinned. "It's a good thing I'm not wrong often, then, isn't it?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're such a prat," she said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

One of James' arms wrapped around her and pulled her down beside him. "You knew that when you married me."

Lily abandoned her professional attitude and snuggled into her husband's warm side. "I did. I suppose that makes me crazy."

"It does. Don't you remember how I proposed?"

Lily laughed. "Is that a trick question?" She doubted anyone ever forgot how they were proposed to, and hers was most memorable than most, particularly since they'd been hiding from a homicidal madman at the time. James shook his head. "Then yes, I remember exactly how you proposed." She smiled wickedly. "You didn't even get down on one knee."

"We were crouching down," James said dismissively. "That's close enough. Besides, you still said yes."

"I did, didn't I?" Lily said, surveying her rings.

James took a hold of her hand. "You did," he said. He pointed to her engagement ring. "That's proof, right there." He pointed to her wedding ring next. "And that one's to show that you were still happy to go through with it twelve months later."

"Mm hmm." Lily tilted her head back to kiss his cheek, which pulled up when he smiled.

"This one's my favourite, though," James said, pointing to her eternity ring. "It means I get to keep you forever."

"Keep me?" Lily asked, her eyes narrowing. "I'm a person, not a broomstick."

"You know that's not how I meant it," James said, tickling her.

"I get to keep you too, then."

"Love, you've had me for almost ten years," James said.

"Willingly or not," Lily muttered, making him laugh. "You were an annoying persistent shadow for six of those years."

"Was not." James grinned. "I was an arrogant bullying toerag, the most bigoted egotist you'd ever had the misfortune to meet and the worst, most conceited person you'd ever come across aside from your sister's fat, self-absorbed boyfriend."

Lily's lips twitched. "You'd better keep me then," she seriously. "I'm probably the only one able to overlook all that."

"That's why I married you," James said, kissing her. "How are you today?" James asked, his hands tracing her slightly swollen stomach. Lily traced the back of his hands with her own.

"Fine. Scared to death but in a good way, instead of a bad way."

"I told Paddy last night."

"I thought you would, now that we're sure. Did you ask him to be Godfather?"

"_He _asked. He was... pretty happy when I told him yes."

"Pretty happy?" Lily said, smiling. "I'd imagine that's an understatement."

"Yeah, a bit," James said, his tone changing slightly.

"What happened?" Lily asked, twisting back to see his face; he was wearing a funny little smile, like he was on the verge of laughing and crying with happiness simultaneously.

James kissed her nose. "A Marauder never tells."

"You tell me things all the time."

"Not this."

"Will you tell Remus and Peter?"

"Of course," James said, sniggering. "There was quite a debate about that last night."

"But you won't tell me," Lily said, sighing good-naturedly; James would tell her anything if she was desperate to know but she was okay with not being a part of_ every_ aspect of the Marauders' quartet of insanity. "Loutish husband," she said anyway.

"Nosy wife," James said, adjusting his arms slightly around her waist.

"Prat," she said, snuggling into him. They lay there for quite some time before James' stomach grumbled loudly. She sat up, laughing. "If you were hungry you should have asked."

James grinned sheepishly. "Is there anything good to eat here?"

"I'll go talk to someone," Lily said. "You're looking better though; you're more green than yellow now."

"Am I allowed to use the Floo while I'm here?"

"Only to talk. You can't invite anyone here and you can't leave."

"Excellent," James said, his face lighting up.

* * *

"Prongs?"

"Moony," James said happily.

Remus got off his couch to kneel on the hearth. "I thought you were gone for a few days."

"Gone?" James scoffed, his voice echoing slightly as it drifted out of Remus' battered fireplace. "I'm never gone!"

"How's Paddy?"

James sniggered and then coughed having inhaled a mouthful of ashes. "Fine."

"Why'd you laugh then?" Remus asked suspiciously; he knew James far too well not to recognise that happy glint in his eye.

"He's spending the night as a stag."

"_What?" _James quickly filled him in on the last day. Remus was impressed to say the least that Sirius was managing his new body and was awed at the amount of magic James had used.

"How's everything down your end?" James asked.

"Fine," Remus said, not wanting to say too much about the Order over the Floo Network. "I'll have more to tell you when you get back though."

James nodded. "How's Pete?" he asked.

"I haven't seen him much," Remus said with a sigh. "He's sick today – migraines or something and he was on Or- er... _working_ yesterday."

"We'll have to get together when we all get home," James said decisively. "It's been too long."

"It has," Remus agreed.

"And I've got some news."

"What?"

"Lily's pregnant."

"Congratulations!" Remus shouted. _James... a father!_

"Thanks." James was beaming.

"How far along is she?" Remus asked, beaming.

"Three months."

"And you're only telling me _now_? How long has Padfoot known?"

"Padfoot found out last night," James said, sobering. "And yes, because do you remember on Halloween when Lils was hit by that orange hex?"

Remus' lungs emptied. It took him a moment to remember how to breathe again. "No wonder you were so bloody worried... And Lily... usually she'd have tried to fight but she demanded to be taken to St Mungo's..."

"She almost miscarried," James said. "We weren't sure until a few nights ago if it would live or not."

Remus sat back, shaken. He didn't even know this child yet, and the idea of him or her being hurt was enough to terrify him. "Kid's a survivor," he said finally.

James grinned. "Of course. It takes more than a Death Eater to take a Potter down."

Remus chuckled. "Is Padfoot Godfather?"

"Of course," James said. "We'd make it both of you but-"

"Custody laws," Remus said with a sigh. "It's fine, Prongs."

"No, it's not. One of these days we're going to have to visit those stuffy old warlocks in the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and make them change the rules."

Remus hastily blinked away the stinging in his eyes. _He trusts me that much, despite what I am...? _"I don't think it works like that, James."

"Why not?"

"Just a hunch," Remus said, smiling.

"We'll see about that," James grumbled. "Anyway, Padfoot will be primary Godfather or whatever the legal term is but I'm going to find some way to give you secondary legal entitlement."

_He's got his determined face on_, Remus thought with a sigh. _How many times did that same look almost get us expelled...? _"Prongs, it's fine. It's still months away and it won't be an issue; you aren't planning on dying on us are you?"

"Of course not!" James said, scowling. "I just want to makes sure my kid's provided for."

"Prongs, Paddy and Pete and I will make sure he or she's looked after if anything ever happened to you or Lils."

"Yeah, I know," James said, smiling. A sly look settled on James' face. "Hey, Moony?"

"Yeah?"

"Padfoot cried."

"When you told him he could be Godfather?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Seems like something he'd do."

"Does that mean you won't tease him for it?" James asked, looking crestfallen.

Remus snorted. "Of course not."

"Good," James said, perking up again. "Are you going to be home tonight?"

"That's a stupid question," Remus said, with a snort. "I'm talking to you."

"It's one in the morning, Moony," James said, smirking. "So by tonight, I mean tonight, not last night."

Remus took a moment to follow the messy haired man's twisted logic but finally nodded. "I've got to go to..._work_ in the morning but otherwise I'll be here, yes."

"Excellent. You can tease him then. Expect us in the afternoon at some point."

"I'll look forward to it," Remus said honestly. He missed the days where he, James, Sirius and Peter could just lounge around the Common Room, enjoying each other's company and chatting about homework or girls. Nowadays, every catch-up had a purpose, or they had limited time because someone had to go to work or go and meet Dumbledore. It would be nice to act like teenagers again and forget about the war and working life and being adults. "You can stay for dinner if you like."

"That sounds good," James admitted. "Are you cooking?"

"I think I'll have to," Remus said, grinning. "It wouldn't be right to ask Lils to cook since she'll be a guest-"

"A guest?" James laughed. "The four of us practically share houses! Guests..." He shook his head laughing. Remus had to admit he had a point. Peter didn't have people over much because it meant he had to tidy – neatness was not a habit he'd kept after his dormitory days – but he had keys to Sirius' flat, as did James and Remus, and everyone knew how to get through the wards that protected Potter Manor and Remus had given the rest of the Marauders keys to his little cottage when he moved in. When he thought about it, he realised they probably spent more time at each other's houses than their own; Remus had spent the weekend on Sirius' couch, simply to have some friendly company after spending a week at a Werewolf camp in Devon. James and Peter had joined them on the second night, miffed they'd missed the first. "It'd still be rude."

"I'm sure she'd be happy to help. Love?" There was the sound of a muffled conversation in the background and then James said, "Yeah, she said she's happy to help out."

"Thank you, Lily!" Remus called.

"You're welcome!" he heard back.

"Paddy and I are happy to help too," James said slyly.

"You two are still banned from my kitchen," Remus said firmly.

"I'm a decent cook," James said, "and Padfoot likes to help."

"I know – to both. But last time you two tried to cook in my house, you blew up my microwave."

"Did not!"

"Did so. You're not to step foot into my kitchen without a responsible adult there."

"I'm responsible, Moony," James said, "don't you worry. I'll keep an eye on Paddy- Hey! Why are you laughing?"

"You- responsible-?!" Remus guffawed.

James grumbled until Remus managed to compose himself. "I am responsible," James said.

Remus thought about it. "I suppose. How about mature, then?"

"Damn," James said, grinning. "Well, what if we want a biscuit? We'd just go to the pantry and get it and come right back out again."

"You'd touch something," Remus said. "If you want as much as a cup of tea you need to ask and Lily, Wormtail or I and we'll get it for you."

"Why's Pete allowed?" James asked sulkily.

"Because he's not capable of destroying half of my kitchen in twenty seconds."

"Bet he could if he tried."

"If you're going to find out, we're not using my house."

"Fine," James said. "We'll use Paddy's."

Remus laughed. "This I've got to see."

"We'll do that on the weekend," James said decisively. "Oh, and Padfoot wants to go flying, or at least, I think he does. He was asking about my old Snitch."

"That'd be good," Remus said happily. "We haven't done that in ages."

"Yeah," James said, smiling. "Hey, Moony?"

"Hey, Prongs," Remus said.

James made a face. "Well if you're going to be like that I won't give you the chance to-"

"To what?" Remus asked curiously.

James grinned. "Would you help me with a prank?"

"A prank? How old are you?" Remus said, but he was grinning.

"Younger than you are, so it's okay," James said seriously. "Padfoot and Kingsley are resting now and I am too, technically, so we're going to do something tonight... something big."

"And you want help deciding what?"

"Pretty much. I want something that'll earn the three of us points – that's me, Paddy and Kingsley. And I want the others to lose a few, but not so many that they'll fail... I was thinking we take all their wands and put them in a pile somewhere nearby. It'll inconvenience them and it'll show that we're in control but if something happens, they'll still have them."

"So what, you'll Stun the two playing sentry and steal them?"

"They'll wake up... we need some way to keep them asleep. Know any spells?"

"Unfortunately not," Remus said. "Do you have any herbs in the arena, or access to any potions?"

James thought for a moment and then his expression brightened. "Yes, actually. We've got a Sleeping Draught and a load of teabags with Valerian Root in them."

"Talk to Lily before you go back in about which one's more potent," Remus said. Valerian Root burns nicely though and you can magic more... do they have a fire?"

"Yes," James said, grinning.

"That'll keep them asleep. If you can make it past whoever their lookouts are, you can put that on the fire."

"And take their wands," James said gleefully.

"And turn their hair pink for good measure," Remus said.

James sniggered. "I'm sure Pads'll arrange that."

"I'm sure too. How long have you got until you go back?"

James disappeared for a second. "Soon, actually," he said, coming back into view.

"Why are you scowling?" Remus asked, bemused. James grumbled something unintelligible about potions and evil wives and then there was a smacking noise at his end. Remus chucked.

"I am not a baby!" James said over his shoulder.

"You are when it comes to potions," he heard Lily say, laughing. Privately, Remus agreed. "Isn't he, Remus?"

"I wouldn't know," he said. James looked grateful and vindicated at the same time.

"Oh, you're just covering for him," Lily's voice said. "He is and we all know it."

James' head disappeared again and there was laughter and squealing from their end before James came back, grinning. "What?"

"Transfigured the bed into a cot with bars all the way round," he said, laughing. "Now who's the baby?"

Remus laughed. "Lily, I suppose. I need to get going, Prongs. Good luck with the last night and I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Will do," James said and his head vanished with a pop.

* * *

"Padfoot! Sirius! Where are you?" Sirius looked up, blinking to re-establish his surroundings. It was dark, and everything looked strange- _and he had hooves_. He panicked for a moment and then remembered and calmed down. Beside him, Kingsley-stag slept soundly. "Sirius!" James hissed. Sirius managed to stand and trotted over to James, who had appeared from behind a dense wall of shrubbery. "There you are!" he said, sounding relieved. "Is Kingsley still with you?" Sirius snorted and twisted his head. James followed the gesture, his hazel eyes falling on Kingsley's stirring form. "_Homorphus_," James said, tapping Sirius with his wand.

Sirius fell with a shout, unaccustomed to having half as many legs again. James smirked. "Oh shut it," Sirius grumbled.

James put his hands up. "I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it," Sirius grumbled. They both watched each other; James was fighting a smile and Sirius was trying not to smile with him. "Prongs," Sirius said.

"Yeah?"

"Can you help me up?" James didn't grin or carry on like Sirius had expected him to. He nodded and hoisted Sirius to his feet. "Cheers."

"No problem. It's weird, isn't it?"

"Very. It took me ten minutes to work out how to lie down because my legs didn't want to bend the way they usually do. Kingsley had to push me over in the end."

"You being pushed over counts as working it out?" James asked skeptically.

"Oh shut it," Sirius said again. "How's Lily?"

"She's fine. I talked to Moony too."

"No fair!" Sirius said, huffing. "I'd have exhausted myself if I knew I'd get to talk to Moony."

"He says hi," James said, bending over Kingsley. "_Homorphus._"

"And how am I supposed to tell him hi back?" Sirius demanded as Kingsley stretched.

"You can tell him tomorrow night," James checked his watch. "Actually, tonight, if you want to be technical."

'There's a change," Sirius said, grinning. "Isn't Moony usually the technical one?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," James sniffed.

"Oh, I think you do," Sirius said. "September first, nineteen-seventy."

"Now who's technical?" James said, laughing.

"Hey, Black?" Sirius turned to look at Kingsley. "Do you have any food to spare?"

James had pulled his rucksack out of his pocket and returned it to normal size before Sirius could even comprehend the question. "Eat what you want," James said. "Oh, and the water bottle's in the side pocket."

"Thank you." James nodded.

"Speaking of food," Sirius said, "are we having dinner at Moony's or is he coming to one of our houses?"

"Pete volunteered to have us all over," James said.

"You got to talk to Peter too!?" Sirius whined. And then what James had said struck him. "Liar. Peter doesn't have anyone but his mother over. Where are we really going?"

"Moony's," James said with a grin. Sirius nodded. Conversation lulled after that; Sirius joined Kingsley eating and James sat down and began to - for reasons Sirius couldn't quite fathom - sort through the various teabags and potions they had accumulated so far.

"What in the name of Merlin's pointy, purple hat are you doing?" Sirius asked, unable to take it any longer; usually, he could guess James' thoughts as easily as his own.

James, who had been duplicating the teabags, looked up wearing a very familiar grin. _Uh oh. _"Planning."

"Oh?" Sirius arched an eyebrow. "Do share." Kingsley looked up, interested.

"We need to earn points," James said. Sirius and Kingsley nodded. "I don't know what we're all sitting on now, but we'll have lost points for letting Finch 'die' and Kingsley, you'll have lost points for getting captured in the first place."

Kingsley grimaced. "I'll have lost more points than that," he said grimly. "The group in the little village area are running this exam; they knew how the point system worked before they opened their doors."

"How?" Sirius asked, frowning.

"They had a plan from the beginning. They're friends with Dawlish – remember that idiot who graduated last year? – and he told them what you have to do to pass the test. They attacked from the start when the rest of us ran for supplies. Dan, Lyra and I managed to get away but we lost Maggie and Oliver about ten minutes in. Hemsley and McDuff tracked us down, 'killed' Dan for points on the spot - they're cowards, knew they couldn't beat him in a fair fight - and then they brought Lyra and I to their base. They let us escape and we were almost to the fence when Read caught up with me and the other two caught Lyra. They're playing the system to make themselves look good and in the meantime, Lyra and I lose points for being captured."

Sirius frowned. "That'd do it." Kingsley nodded grimly.

James was still grinning. "Well then, gentlemen, I'd say they need their egos deflated."

"How?"

James grinned and waved a hand at the array of teabags and potions on the mossy ground.

* * *

James peered over the edge of the roof of the building he was on. Next to him, Sirius shifted. "You'd think after our escape they'd have more than one person on guard," he muttered.

"It's four in the morning," Kingsley pointed out. "They probably don't think anyone's likely to attack."

"Idiots," Sirius and James said together. They both looked at each other and broke into quiet laughter.

"So you know what you have to do, right?"

James asked. Sirius glanced at him and nodded. "Stun anyone who wakes up. And, once we come back, hair," he said. _It might not earn me any points but it'll certainly make things interesting._

"And then you help me collect wands," James said. "Shacklebolt?" James asked.

Kingsley hefted the bag of Valerian powder he had; it was soaking in a sleeping potion and according to James, who had asked Lily, it would burn quickly but keep everyone within a ten yard radius asleep for a good hour. "Straight to the fire before anyone can wake up."

"Excellent."

"Of course, it's irrelevant if you can't knock-" Sirius squinted at the woman who was sitting by the fire. "-Austen, I think it is, out."

James nodded determinedly. "Are we ready, then?"

"I think so," Kingsley said. Sirius nodded his agreement.

"And if we bollocks it up-" James said, looking worried for a moment.

"We won't," Sirius said. "We're the Marauders, remember? And Kingsley of course." Kingsley grinned. "Now, get your arse down there and put Austen to sleep."

James chuckled and slipped of the roof, disappearing into the darkness. Sirius and Kingsley waited a few seconds before climbing down after him, though they waited behind the building. There were a few very tense moments, with Sirius straining his ears to listen to what was going on and watching for the signal. Finally, the big fire in the middle of the trainee's camp glowed a subtle pink. Sirius relaxed and followed Kingsley out into the sea of sleeping bodies. _And let's hope they stay that way,_ Sirius thought grimly.

James materialised next to him. Sirius jumped; he hadn't heard him coming, even with his sensitive ears. He watched the trainees carefully but none showed any signs of waking. Kingsley tossed the little bag onto the fire. The effect was instantaneous; the bag caught immediately and the fire changed from pinkish orange to a pale violet-blue. Sirius began to feel sleepy. "Run," James hissed, pulling at his shoulder.

Sirius held his breath and forced his legs to obey to follow James. Kingsley was already peeking out from behind a building. "That stuff works," Sirius said, yawning.

James chuckled. "Remind me to thank Lils."

"How long until we can go out again?" Sirius asked. James shrugged.

"I say we give it ten minutes," Kingsley said.

"Prongs?"

"I say we listen to the Ravenclaw," James said, grinning. Kingsley chuckled.

They waited in relative silence; James _was_ silent, absently tracing the scar on his arm that Snivellus had given him, Kingsley meditated, humming to himself, and Sirius dozed, trying to fight off the after-effects of the smoke.

Finally, Kingsley shifted and stood. James copied him and Sirius pushed away the last vestiges of weariness and joined them. The three crept back into the camp not bothering to be quiet; if one of the trainees had resisted the sleeping powder, it was better to know straight away. Kingsley and James started Summoning wands.

Sirius focused on his first victim; McDuff. He grinned, aimed his wand carefully and whispered, "_Rosea Capillos."_ Her hair brightened to a sickly fuchsia colour. Confident the colour was the one he wanted, he raised his wand in a circular motion above his head and said, "_Rosea Capillos Ubique."_ Sirius grinned for a moment and then laughed; James and Kingsley had been affected by the spell too. _Oops._

Kingsley exclaimed, pointing at James who glanced around, instantly alert. "What?" James asked anxiously, his eyes returning to the growing collection of wands in his hand.

"Hair," Kingsley said, fighting a smile.

James ran a hand through it and shrugged. "It's still there," he said. Sirius watched him look up at Kingsley, trying to work out what the problem was and then fall over laughing. "Hair!" he said, clutching his sides. "Padfoot!"

"I thought it suited you," Sirius said, pretending to look hurt.

James smirked and raised his wand. "Only as much as purple is about to suit you."

"All right!" Sirius said, hastily reversing the charm on them both.

"Am I fixed?" Kingsley asked.

James sniggered, pocketing his wand and nodded. "Me?" Kingsley nodded. "Excellent. Padfoot, grab the wands of the ones on your side of the fire and then we'll go."

Sirius Summoned McDuff's wand, and that of Hemsley who was curled up next to her and joined the other two. "Here," he said, passing James the wands before raising his own. "There we go," Sirius said happily.

James chuckled at the sign Sirius had conjured. '_WANDS THIS WAY!', _it proclaimed in large orange letters.

"Is that necessary?" Kingsley asked.

"Of course!" James and Sirius said in unison. "How else would they find them?"

Kingsley shook his head and followed them out of the cluster of buildings and out onto the open, rocky section. Sirius found himself feeling exposed and was comforted to find he wasn't the only one; Kingsley kept glancing over his shoulder and his knuckles were white around his wand.

James stopped when they were halfway between the fence and the trainee's camp and conjured a large, flashing pedestal which he set the rest of the wands on top of. Sirius conjured a matching banner on which Kingsley cast a tricky little charm that enabled it to hover twelve feet in the air.

"Think they'll find it?" James asked casually.

"Probably," Sirius said.

"Some won't come," Kingsley murmured. "I wouldn't. I'd think it was a trap."

"You'd be right," James said, grinning. He consulted his watch. "We've got three hours left in here and I say it's time to make the best of it."

"I thought we just had," Sirius said, puzzled.

"Aside from that. Time to make another best," James said, waving a hand.

Sirius looked at Kingsley and shrugged. "Like what?"

"Well, so far in here, we've demonstrated our ability to survive, our ability to hide, our ability to escape, our ability to heal and our ability to know when to seek out the Healers instead," James said. "We'll get points for the prank but that comes under resourcefulness I think."

"You left of duelling," Sirius told him. "We fought Hemsley and McDuff and Gutnich and his cronies."

"But we didn't do much. That was more escaping and surviving," James said.

"You want to fight?"

James spun his wand between his fingers. "I want to show them what we can do."

"They're wandless though,' Sirius said, frowning.

"They'll come get them," James said patiently. "And then they'll return to their little camp."

"An ambush," Kingsley said, his eyes brightening. Sirius remembered the man had always excelled in the strategic areas of Auror training. "I like it."

"But there won't be any running this time," James said.

"Well, not unless we're dying," Sirius said reasonably.

"That goes without saying," James said. "What do you think?"

"I'm in," Sirius said. "_That_ goes without saying." James grinned. "Shacklebolt?"

Kingsley looked between them and then sighed. But he was grinning. "Someone has to keep the two of you from being killed and since Lyra isn't around, or that Lupin she was talking about, it seems the job falls to me."

"And you said Ravenclaws were no fun," Sirius told James, scoffing. Kingsley laughed.

"That was you," James said, chuckling.

"Was not!" Sirius said, flinging an arm around Kingsley's broad shoulders. "I love eagles."

"That's not what you said when you were on guard duty with the Bones twins."

"Oh, yeah," Sirius said, grinning. The Amelia and Edgar were great people and talented, but they took everything far too seriously. He let his arm fall from Kingsley's shoulders and took a step away, grinning. "Sorry, Shacklebolt."

"Are you all right, there, Prongs?" Sirius called, parrying a curse with a well-placed Shield Charm.

"Just brilliant," James said, ducking behind a building. He emerged a moment later and blasted his opponent away with a Stunner. "How's Shacklebolt holding up?"

Sirius sent a Disarmer at Gutnich - it missed but distracted him long enough for Sirius to shoot a glance over his shoulder. "Alive," he said. "He looks tired, but aren't we all?"

"True enough," James said with a grimace, flexing his wrist. Sirius could sympathise; he'd had arm cramps for almost an hour. "Not long left, though."

"How long?" Sirius grunted, forced to pull a door off its hinges to block a 'Killing' Curse. He Stunned Gutnich before he could recover.

"Ten minutes, maybe," James said, consulting his watch. "How many of them are left?"

"Dunno," Sirius said, watching Kingsley force Hemsely and McDuff - the latter was still pink-haired - around the back of a building with a powerful Disarmer. He ran around after them and, though the other two waited expectantly, didn't reappear.

"Let's get back there!" Sirius said, already running. He heard James' footsteps not far behind him. The two skidded around the corner, Shield Charms raised and almost collided with Kingsley's Stunned form.

"_Dolores!_" Hemsley said. The spell missed James, who had ducked to revive Kingsley but it hit Sirius square on and he dropped, writhing. _Not as bad as the Cruciatus Curse, thank Merlin,_ Sirius thought, waiting for it to pass. He was aware of James and Kingsley bringing McDuff to her knees with a Jelly-legs and Arm-bind combination, but his torture continued. "_Dolores!" _Hemsley said, releasing Sirius as he turned his attention on Kingsley. It missed, thankfully and Sirius seized the opportunity, rolling over to his wand. "_Dolores!_"

"Aaah!" Kingsley screamed as he fell, his entire body twitching. James didn't hesitate. He grabber the bigger man by the arm and helped him to his feet, wincing slightly; evidently, Kingsley was conducting. The two made it over to Sirius' hiding place, behind the wall of one of the storage rooms, and James deposited Kingsley on the rocky ground, where he lay panting.

James wiped his sweaty hair out of his face and peered out from behind the wall. Then he swore. "He's gone!" he exclaimed.

"Where?" Kingsley asked, pushing himself upright.

"Who knows," James said.

"Look out!" Sirius shouted; Hemsley was back with McDuff and the previously incapacitated Gutnich.

The three of them retreated further around the building, covering each other with Shield Charms. "I say we split up. Take one each," James panted.

"Done. We've only got to last another few minutes anyway, right?"

"Right," Kingsley said. "On three, we all run for a separate one; I'll take Hemsley, Potter, you can have McDuff and Black, that leaves you with Gutnich."

"Done," Sirius said again. "I seem to work well with people named James."

James gave them his trademark mischievous smile. "True." His expression flickered again. "Oh," he said casually, "and if either of you die, I'll kill you myself."

"Incentive," Kingsley said. "I like it."

"Let's go," Sirius said, grinning.

And then they ran; James headed toward McDuff, holding a Shield Charm in front of him, so that spells rebounded in every direction, causing general mayhem. Kingsley sent a Stunner straight for Hemsley and darted to the next building when he was distracted and Sirius tucked his wand into his pocket and ran _into_Gutnich, knowing he wouldn't be prepared for a physical attack. The two went tumbling into the ground, Sirius trying to pin him, Gutnich trying to hold onto his wand.

Just when Sirius thought he had him, Gutnich got his wand between them and shouted, "_Depulso!_". At that moment, the story of the fiasco of the second full moon of the Marauder's seventh year made a hell of a lot more sense; Banishing Charms were _strong!_ _Poor Moony didn't stand a chance_, Sirius thought as he hit the wall of the building he'd been hiding at. _And our James had a lot more incentive for getting him away that this James did._ He clutched his head which was thankfully free of blood, though it hurt a bit and his aura had gone a shade yellower.

"Padfoot!" James. He looked shocked.

"I'm fine," Sirius groaned, getting a Shield Charm up in time to block another attack. "Look out!" James dove out of the way of one of McDuff's spells and hit her with one he'd sent over his shoulder.

"Nice one, Prongs!" Sirius shouted.

"Thanks, Pad- _No!_" he shouted, looking at something over Sirius' shoulder.

"_Expulso_!" Gutnich shouted.

The building behind Sirius exploded, throwing him off his feet. He heard James' shout of "_NO! SIRIUS!"_ and he thought Kingsley shouted something too, but he couldn't hear what, over Gutnich: "_Expelliarmus!"_ the trainee bellowed. That was followed by a series of shouts of "_Expulso!"_

Sirius looked up from his place on the ground and saw James looking at him in horror, Kingsley blasting Hemsley and sending a spell at Gutnich, who'd just caught James' wand. And then he saw nothing; rubble rained down, but nothing hit him. There was pressure, incredible pressure, on his back and legs, but no pain, and he was still glowing a pale yellow, as he had been for the past hour and a half.

"Black! Black?!" Sirius identified the voice as Kingsley's. "Black, can you hear me?! Potter, I've got your wand! Help me get Black out! Potter, get up! Potter?"

Sirius took another moment to assess his situation - which consisted of finding his wand - and then shifted slightly in the convenient pocket of space. _Odd that the rubble fell that way..._ He managed to point his wand above his head and cast, "_Protego"_ which reduced the pressure on the rest of him slightly. _Thank Merlin_. Using the Shield Charm, he sat up and heavy chucks of brick tumbled away to the sides.

"Black?!" Kingsley rushed over, his dark face covered in dust and blood. Over his shoulder, James slumped over, his face drawn.

"I'm fine," Sirius said, getting up to check on James. "Prongs? Jamie, wake up!"

James smiled without opening his eyes. "I'm awake, Padfoot."

"What colour are you?" Sirius asked, desperately, as Kingsley bound Gutnich, McDuff and Hemsley together.

"Skin coloured, usually," James said, grinning. "But I need a wash; I'm a bit dirty at the moment." Sirius found himself laughing. "Are you hurt?" James asked, looking worried now.

"No," Sirius said. "It was weird; none of the bricks touched me."

"Weird," James agreed, not meeting his eyes.

"It was _you!"_ Sirius said. "Wasn't it?"

"I think you think too much of me," James said, laughing shakily. "I was Disarmed."

"You're lying, Prongs. I can see it in your face."

James looked worried. "I don't know what I did it didn't feel like accidental magic but it did at the same time... but wizards are supposed to grow out of that."

"You were scared though, right?"

James scowled. "Of course I was bloody scared! You were about to be flattened by a building!"

"I'm touched, Jamie," Sirius said, helping him up. "Kingsley, are you alive?"

"I could use a hot meal and a bath but I'm alive, Black, yes," Kingsley said, grinning. "Are you all right, Potter? Why'd you collapse?"

"Tired," James said, shrugging as he checked his watch.

"From holding up buildings," Sirius muttered. James heard and shot him a look. Sirius gave him his best cheeky grin as they joined Kingsley.

"Trainees, please lower your wands," the cool voice said, echoing through the arena. "The Examination has now ended."

"That's it!" Sirius said, hugging James then Kingsley. "We're Aurors!"

"If we passed," James said, but he was beaming too.

"Please return to the door you entered through and have your Healer check you over. Further instructions will be given then."

Sirius and James looked at each other. "My door's closest," Sirius said. James nodded.

"I'm this way," Kingsley said, grinning. James and Sirius shared a look before they held out a hand each. Laughing, Kingsley shook both hands at once. "It's been a pleasure, gentlemen."

"Gentlemen," Sirius scoffed.

"It's like you don't know us at all!" James exclaimed.

Kingsley laughed again. "I'll see you _boys_ on the outside then."

He turned, headed for the fence and Sirius and James turned, heading for the far arena wall, which they could follow to Sirius' door.

Sirius found himself dreading the outside of the arena. There was a war going on, outside these walls - hell, wasn't that why they had wanted to become Aurors in the first place? - and Voldemort and his Death Eaters were still trying to take over. Was it really so bad that he wanted to stay in here and forget about the death and the hate and the corruption that was slowly infesting their world?

"Hurry up, Padfoot!" James said, tugging his arm. "Lily's waiting."

And then Sirius smiled. _Lily, of course. _ He had forgotten for a moment, that there was good out there too. That there was Lily and Moony and Wormtail and the rest of their friends in the Order. That there were things like love that he'd fight _anyone_ to keep. That with James and Lily's baby on the way, there was life and innocence amidst the death and darkness.

_And without the darkness, how would we see the light?_ Sirius mused.

He grinned. "Race you there!" James said, already running.

"So much for together!" Sirius called, sprinting after him.

To his surprise, James skidded to a stop. "Have it your way then," he said, grinning as Sirius caught up, puffing. Sirius seriously contemplated taking off again and making _James _run.

But he didn't. "Together?" he said instead.

"Together," James agreed.


	4. Appendix: Scores

James:

10 points for getting to supplies and choosing decent ones.

10 points for locating an ally.

-5 points for joining someone that made themselves a target.

5 points for subduing Gutnich.

5 points for subduing Louisson.

-10 points for being hit with Klenner's spell/getting hurt.

5 points for subduing Klenner.

5 points for being able to heal the damage.

10 points for finding water

10 points for making it through the night unharmed; good choice of shelter.

10 points for sticking with Black (ally) for 1 day.

-10 points for being caught in a vulnerable state.

5 points for subduing McDuff.

5 points for recognising and learning from the mistakes made by other trainees.

5 points for stealth/observing the enemy without detection.

5 points for a successful diversion.

5 points for Disarming Ackerly.

10 points for gathering supplies.

5 points for healing Shacklebolt.

5 points for healing Black.

-10 points for a red aura.

-5 points for lying about it.

5 points for going from red to orange.

-5 points for getting trapped.

10 points for allying with Shacklebolt.

10 points for allying with Finch.

5 points for setting up a good plan.

5 points for not abandoning allies under duress.

-50 points for letting an ally die.

5 points for not lingering.

5 points for getting away safely.

10 points for getting away with two allies alive.

-10 points for a red aura.

5 points for going from red to orange.

5 points for seeking out a healer.

10 points for surviving the second night.

10 points for sticking with Black (ally) for 2 days.

10 points for sticking with Shacklebolt (ally) for 1 day.

5 points for setting up a good plan.

5 points for entering enemy territory without detection.

5 points for subduing Austen.

10 points for teamwork.

10 points for resourcefulness.

20 points for getting possession of enemy wands.

-10 points for pranking, and not taking the situation seriously.

10 points for a successful ambush.

5 points for reviving a Stunned ally.

10 points for using teamwork to subdue McDuff.

5 points for getting a temporarily incapacitated ally to safety.

5 points for taking one opponent and leaving the others to allies.

5 points for subduing McDuff.

-10 points for being Disarmed.

10 points for saving Black's life.

20 points for keeping an ally for all 3 days (Black).

10 points for keeping Shacklebolt as an ally for 2 days.

10 points for surviving.

20 points for finishing with a non-red aura.

10 points for having supplies left over.

Total: 255 points.

PASS.

Sirius:

10 points for getting to supplies and choosing decent ones.

10 points for locating an ally.

-10 points for the the method in which the ally was located/failing to take the situation seriously/making himself a target.

5 points for use of the Disillusionment Charm.

5 points for use of Disillusionment Charm on an ally.

5 points for subduing Hunter.

5 points for Disarming Klenner.

-5 points for allowing Klenner to regain her wand.

-10 points for being hit with Klenner's spell/getting hurt.

5 points for being able to heal the damage.

10 points for finding water

10 points for making it through the night unharmed; good choice of shelter.

10 points for sticking with Potter (ally) for 1 day.

-10 points for being caught in a vulnerable state.

10 points for not losing supplies.

5 points for a successful diversion.

5 points for subduing Hemsley.

-5 points for trying to jump over the wall/not taking the situation seriously.

5 points for stealth/observing the enemy without detection.

10 points for gathering supplies.

-10 points for getting hurt.

-10 points for losing his wand.

5 points for attention to an ally's health.

5 points for letting an ally rest and recover.

-5 points for getting trapped.

10 points for allying with Shacklebolt.

10 points for allying with Finch.

5 points for setting up a good plan.

5 points for not abandoning allies under duress.

-50 points for letting an ally die.

-5 points for having to be saved by an ally.

5 points for not lingering.

5 points for getting away safely.

10 points for getting away with two allies alive.

5 points for helping an injured ally to a healer.

10 points for surviving the second night.

10 points for sticking with Potter (ally) for 2 days.

10 points for sticking with Shacklebolt (ally) for 1 day.

5 points for setting up a good plan.

5 points for entering enemy territory without detection.

10 points for teamwork.

10 points for resourcefulness.

20 points for getting possession of enemy wands.

-10 points for pranking, and not taking the situation seriously.

10 points for a successful ambush.

5 points for subduing Gutnich.

-10 points for being hit with an 'Unforgivable'.

5 points for an alternative and surprising attack method.

-10 points for being hurt.

-5 points for having to be saved by an ally.

20 points for keeping an ally for all 3 days (Potter).

10 points for keeping Shacklebolt as an ally for 2 days.

10 points for surviving.

20 points for finishing with a non-red aura.

10 points for having supplies left over.

Total: 210 points.

PASS.


End file.
